Tuesday 22 February 2011

Never let me go



The Synopsis
Never let me go is about three people who grow up together Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightly)in a reality that is very different to others. The films sees them through their journey of coming to terms with the world they are in and as a result the future they inevitably hold.

The review
I've been too hasty with my reviews to this point because I think I had forgotten what it's like to see a truly stunning film. Tonight this film made me just stop in my tracks and whisper 'wow.' This is what deserves my full marks and the others I have given five faces to, although amazing, certainly fall short of this masterpiece. So from this point I measure all films up to this and will therefore be a lot more stingy with my full marks until I see a film that has this much of an impact on me.

With that little revelation over let me tell you exactly why this film rocked my world. The concept for the film was something that I had been a little cautious of prior to seeing it as I kept on thinking it sounded a lot like a storyline done before in 'The Island' but let me tell you now, although in theory the ideas are the same, the very delivery of them both could not be more different. This film told the story of these people's short planned out lives with such a beautiful hopelessness behind it that my breath was caught in my throat throughout the whole thing. There was no way out, no fight to get out, just acceptance that this was the only way they could possibly live. It was that underlying attitude that just made the film so precious.

I'm sitting here trying to think of words that will do this film justice and am overwhelmed by memories of different scenes written so beautifully and performed with such power by all three actors that I would happily sit down and watch it all again right now.

Mulligan, Garfield and Knightly are all stunning in this film but I want to particularly applaud Andrew Garfield. He played his part amazingly, his eyes were constantly filled with the innocence of a man who knew no better than the sheltered life he had been forced to live and as a result every time he was on the screen my heart just leapt out for him. To really talk about what I loved on this film I would have to give away so many spoilers it wouldn't be fair but there are loads of moments I want to applaud him in. Cryptically I could mention the showing of his art and the exploration of the ship and losing it on the road and of course the looks he shared with Kathy. All these things I could spend a blog alone talking about. I'll just have to sum it up by saying it was beautiful.

Now I understand that it is different to the book it's based on but for that part I am very glad I haven't read it because I hear people might not be happy about it in comparison to the book though to me as a stand alone piece there is nothing at all I could fault about it.

Add on that it has made me a instant fan of the Screenplay writer Alex Garland and that the genius composer that is Rachel Portman (The Duchess) provides the score for it and you have perfect icing on a gorgeous little cupcake. My favourite film of the year so far ... by a looooong stretch.

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