Like most cynics, I approach film adaptations of novels I love with a guarded trepidation that makes it alright if they over sentimentalize or deviate wildly from the source material. You’ve burned me too many times Hollywood! But between last year’s adaptation of The Road and this new trailer for Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go”, based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s breathtaking novel of the same name, my faith has somewhat been restored.
I first read “Never Let Me Go” when I was 18. For me it was that kind of transcendent literary work that shapes the rest of your adult life in ways you’ll never fully comprehend until long after the books last words have faded from memory. I remember the plot, which would be abominable of me to spoil here (though the trailer does a pretty good job), but most of all I remember the mood. The spirit of young rebellion, the false utopia, the futility. Pretty morose stuff, nihilistic even, but Romanek’s lens also captures the humanity I remember too. That’s the most important thing I guess. Despite its sci-fi facade this has to be about relationships and at the film’s core is a trio of young Oscar-baiting Brits – Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield – who all look mighty convincing at this early stage. Pretty excited about this one.
