Never Let Me Go (12A)

There are two main propositions in this film. The first being that the characters inhabit a world where they are "farmed" from birth to provide organs for transplantation. The second ly that a rumoured means of reprieve from this terrible fate exists, and yet is withheld from two of the lead characters by the third lead who conducts a sham relationship to block their chance for fleeting happiness. These two weak, flat arguments are drawn out throughout the entire film in an unbelievable, shallow fashion that says nothing about the realities of the human condition or human behaviour. At the same time the powerful themes that could have been highlighted have instead been portrayed with the passion and depth of a play describing the disappointment engendered by a village garden fete being cancelled due to warnings of bad weather.The acting, is good on the whole, but flattened again by the shallow characterisations and plot line. The shooting of the film itself has artistic merit without question but the music and screen atmosphere remains monotonous and once again overshadowed by the ludicrous propositions. The sadness of this film should be reserved for the audience, and pity for those simple enough to be moved by it, when there are far more potent stark and vivid tragedies played out in the real world every day and at all points. My opinion only of course, so by all means enjoy and be moved if you can.

A thoroughly moving and thought-provoking piece, sublimely acted and beautifully shot, the two-star rating of this reviewer is at best unjustified. Of course film reviews will be subjective to some extent, but it is difficult to understand how anyone with any emotional intelligence could remain so unaffected by NLMG.

This movie was disappointing. Perhaps I could have appreciated if I hadn't read the book first, but I couldn't stand the changes that were made in the adaptation. They seemed pointless and changed the relationships between the characters. There was a lack of insight into the characters thoughts and far too much of the plot was removed or altered. Having said that, Carey Mulligan did a great job as Kathy. I just wish that Kazuo Ishiguro's text had come through, instead of a typical tear-jerking movie.

I loved the book and somehow the film was even more moving. I haven't cried at a film for a long time but this one made me want to howl along with one of the central characters. For me, the serious question it asks is what we will allow to go on in our society's as long as we can hide from the unpleasant darkside of things that bring us benefits.

Give me strength, where does T.O get its reviewers? I guess Tom Huddleston would probably complain about a lack of decent guitar solos in a Mahler symphony... oops no I'm being a cultural snob, apart from the fact it doesn't really work... Take time Mr H, and let the structure and emotions of this moving and thoughtful adaptation percolate through to whatever sensibilities are buried beneath the surface of your prejudicial mindset. Perhaps then you will understand the difference between NLMG and "The Island" and get how Ishiguro's message relates to the world we live in today without having to relegate a movie to its genre and then judge whether it has enough action to qualify as "good sci-fi".

I agree with this short review, although it doesn't quite convey how awful this film is. While the acting and cinematography are for the most part decent, the premise and narrative thrust of the film are so hackneyed, vacuous and just plain stupid to merit anyone's attention. The characters, who seem to represent a strange analogue of the human being without any of this creature's most vital characteristics, are not developed in any significant way, and the viewer does not get much involved in their fates. It's a great shame that a film that could have explored mortality, love, freedom, and the future of health in an engaging and intelligent way had to line it all with sentimentality and cliche, all under the benevolent gaze of the British rural aesthetic.

Well, you can certainly rely on Time Out's film reviews. Go to a load of pretentious, incompetently filmed BS like Heartbeats and Time Out gives it four stars. But go to a finely-made, moving and sensitive film examining a fundamental subject like life and death, in this case Never Let Me Go, and what does Time Out produce? A classic whine and a ludicrous comparison with The Island. I went to see NLMG knowing nothing at all about it beforehand (for all I knew it could have been the latest Jennifer Aniston crapfest), and was deeply impressed by a serious view of the issues here (don't want to give too much away with spoilers, even at this late stage). But I suppose there's one good thing about this review: you can, as ever, rely on a Time Out review, in that if TO says it's good, it'll be shite, and if TO says it's bad, it may well be as good as this film is.

Guy who wrote this surely did sleep when they was trying to teach him in school - anything.. and surely did skip a lot in life when is not able to recognize to true, clean and feeling bigger than ourselves. Thumbs up for this great movie.

forgot my stars... I'd be interested to see deleted scenes or an extended cut...films feels like it got hacked, to keep a very trim running time.

Happy, happy, clappy, trappy??? Is the fact that this movie is unhappy that irks some people? Positive thinking half-full brigade. Please, just grow up. Night follows day, light is lighter against darkness, the truth is out there. Face it. Then your happiness will seem more real. To everyone. This is an astounding film. Who cares that it's Sci-Fi set in an English past?