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Saturday, January 1, 2011

[8.25/10] Never Let Me Go (2010)



Brief review: "One Hour Photo" director, Mark Romanek, brings this beautifully-shot adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro' novel of the same name, that grabs the viewer with its heartbreakingly-sad, yet touching story, engaging characters and breathtaking visuals.
"Never Let Me Go" is a quietly-terrifying story of fate, hope and true love, and although dystopian, it feels somewhat believable and thoroughly realistic. "Never Let Me Go" is rather slow-moving, yet elegant and smoothly-paced, and it features strong performances by Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley as the two key characters, Ruth and Kathy, a solid supporting performance by Charlotte Rampling, and wonderful cameo by the incredibly-talented Sally Hawkins. "Never Let Me Go" also impresses with its absolutely stunning cinematography with muted, yet saturated color palette, gorgeous scenery of the English countryside, and the masterful direction of Mark Romanek's, who provides countless brilliant shots, slick camera angles, and incredibly well-staged scenes. All this accompanied by Rachel Portman's mesmerizing music score, that perfectly fits the haunting and thoroughly disturbing subject matter of the film.

Overall summary: As profoundly-beautiful as it's shockingly disturbing, "Never Let Me Go" ranks as one of the most moving, emotionally resonant and gorgeously-photographed films of 2010.

18 comments:

Unknown said...

I have been loath to see this simply because of Keira Knightly. I do not like her at all. She ruins films I would otherwise enjoy with her one-note performances. The crux of this situation is can I stomach her enough to see Carey Mulligan, an actress I thoroughly enjoy.

Jaccstev said...

If I made top 15 or 20 best movies of 2010 so this film would have been included. But this is definitely worth as one honorable mention of 2010.

✗✗ said...

Very excited about this one!! I was hoping it wasn't going to be a disappointment-can't wait to see it. BTW, your brief reviews are just as moving as the longer ones!! Great job!

RAHUL said...

I READ YOUR REVIEW ......AND I THINK I NEED TO WATCH THIS MOVIE

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Melissa, really? Hm, I reckon she's very pretty and quite talented.

Keira plays a secondary character in this one, so the main focus is definitely not on her but on Carey Mulligan. You should see it. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Dempsey Sanders said...

Thanks for the post George, will definately have to see this one

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Jaccsy, I had no idea you've seen this one. It's definitely one of the better films of the past year, and it deserves to be at least a honorable mention.

So far, I've reviewed 201 movies, released in 2010, so I will definitely make a TOP 20, and not a TOP 10, I won't make that list until I see all the films I want to :)

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Nicole, dear... you should be excited, as this one is pretty good and very, very moving. Prapare yourslef to be shocked by the story. It's truly disturbing.

Thank you so much, Nicole. That's so nice of you :) Glad you like my brief reviews as much as you like my longer ones. :)

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

RAHUL, you should certainly do so.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Welcome back, Demps! :) I missed you and your comments quite a lot :)

You should certainly check it out, plus, everything about it is British, except for the director :)

Jaccstev said...

Didn't want to watch it at first, I just DL it for my wife n you guess we finally watched it 2gether at our h'moon, n I can't help but enjoy the film quite much :))

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

And I was super excited about it and it certainly met my expectations. You have to thank to your wife, Jaccs :P

Unknown said...

We'll agree to disagree about Keira. :) I will check it out since I have already seen a couple movies you've recommended and your views are spot on. Hope your New Year was spectacular and I hope 2011 rocks for you. All good things for you, my friend.

Love and Hugs!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Thank you, Melissa. I'm so glad when someone reckons my views are spot, especially if that someone is a person I like and respect. :)
New Year's Eve was great, thanks! We've celebrated until the early morning hours. :)
Thank you again, Melissa. You're an absolute sweetheart :)

Unknown said...

OMG I so cannot wait for this one to come out in my country, mostly because of the cast. I really envy the people who got a chance to see it already =)

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

It wasn't released theatrically in my country either, but I sill managed to see it ;) and it's utterly incredible!

Unknown said...

This is an awesome movie, I saw it last night, and I loved the idea, and how the whole movie can be interpreted as a metaphor of human life. Now I'm trying to find the novel.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Minoccio, so glad you liked. I also found it to be incredibly moving and very disturbing piece of cinema, that stayed with me long after the final credit has rolled. Oh, and it was so beautifully-filmed. The metaphor you're talking about is downright terrifying.