The blurb in the trailer is right. Never Let Me Go is one of the best books you can can go out and get regardless of your reading preferences. Ishiguro is perhaps my favorite author, and coincidentally I was just talking about this book and forthcoming adaptation at a messageboard community, sharing that I’ve come to the conclusion that this is perhaps his best novel. That was an opinion I haven’t had before due to the existence of The Remains of the Day (also adapted to film, starring Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Ben Chaplin and the late Christopher Reeve). In fact, I’ve been re-reading his novels, and much of Ishiguro’s “lesser” novels are actually much better on second readings, especially his The Unconsoled , which reminds me so much of what a lot of modern Fantasy is trying to do. You need to go buy Never Let Me Go.
Anyways, on to the film. Last year (way back in March), we told you that the rather lovely Keira Knightley had been cast by director Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) to play the central role of Ruth. She was later joined by Carey Mulligan (who is having her year of garnering kudos for her award tour performance in An Education), Charlotte Rampling, Nathalie Richard, Andrea Riseborough, and Sally Hawkins. The screenplay is by Alex Garland who penned the screenplays for 28 Weeks Later, Sunshine) and wrote the novel, The Beach. Last April, we also posted some images showing some of the cast – though Keira-centric – on the set.
Film Synopsis – In his highly acclaimed novel Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro created a remarkable story of love, loss and hidden truths. In it he posed the fundamental question: What makes us human? Now director Mark Romanek, writer Alex Garland and DNA Films bring Ishiguro’s hauntingly poignant and emotional story to the screen. Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley) live in a world and a time that feel familiar to us, but are not quite like anything we know. They spend their childhood at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. When they leave the shelter of the school and the terrible truth of their fate is revealed to them, they must also confront the deep feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal that threaten to pull them apart.
