Movie Review: Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go is a dystopian sci-fi novel written by Nobel-awarded author Kazuo Ishiguro, and it is his last full-length novel preceding his first collection of short stories. The novel was adapted into a movie with the same title in 2010, directed by Mark Romanek. The narrative is complicated due to its unreliable nature, as in other works of Ishiguro, adding to its slowly revealing and mysterious plot. Although the movie respects the overall story in this regard, some critics oppose that, arguing it is somewhat unfaithful, as the narrative becomes solely a sci-fi movie.

The story depicts the years of the three major characters in Hailsham, which is a boarding school where all the students are “clones”. It is also the first place the audience is introduced to the protagonists, Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth. As the first-person narrator, Kathy tells the story retrospectively, and she feels enlightened. Their childhood and how they were raised are portrayed. After their graduation, the three friends move to the Cottages, where they stay during their adolescence and join society. In the end, the friends do the ‘work’ they are supposed to do.

The story is kind of a parallel reality since biotechnology has peaked and human clones are produced to be harvested for their internal organs, and this pseudo-sci-fi setting challenges all possible anticipations. The clone students are seen as non-human entities by the society that created them, and the only reason they were brought to this world is to serve ‘humanity’. When they reach a certain age, they are supposed to donate their vital organs and be ‘complete’. This strikes the audience as an exceedingly cruel system.

The movie adaptation stays faithful to the overall narrative, and follows the story closely, despite leaving out a few minor plot lines. Ishiguro’s text employs deconstructive strategies, distinguishing itself from the science-fiction genre, whereas the movie seems to draw a clear line between the dualities. Therefore, the “human” becomes a category set against the opposite, the clone, or non-human. The movie, in this sense, transforms the original narrative into a love story, erasing the criticism of what “human” is and art. Kathy’s unreliable attitude, an outcome of her traumatic experiences, deviates into a tragic love story, as she seeks Tommy’s attention.

The movie also received criticism for being unfaithful to the novel and deviating from its portrayal of accepting reality. The students at Hailsham do not possess anything but the paintings and collections they obtain during exchanges. But, the adaptation weakens the relationship between the collections and the students, resulting in less emphasis on the role of hope as the clones gradually face the harsh reality. This is due to the cutting out of many incidents containing symbols in which Ishiguro demonstrates his ability to hope.

The director highlights the collections through a series of close-up shots, showing their importance to the clones in that they yearn for a fulfilled life before their completion. However, the use of these symbols in the movie puts more emphasis on the dehumanization of the clones and their low positions in society. Therefore, societal issues, the hegemony in terms of Marxist structure, rather than the significance of hope are the focus. Nevertheless, the social message intended by Ishiguro is conveyed.

There is also a Japanese drama adaptation of Never Let Me Go. If you are interested, you can take a look at it here.