“Never Let Me Go”

The natural rate of mortality is something people take for granted. We accept that death is unpredictable and an eventual fate, but fortunately, we’re able to live comfortably because we naturally assume that life’s last variable, death, is off in the distance.In Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go” we’re immediately uncomfortable attaching ourselves to the film’s principle characters Kathy, Tommy and Ruth (Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley) because we know that mortality is embedded, and even more disturbingly, accepted into their youth. “Never Let Me Go” presents elements of passion, fear and empathy in a way that, although it sometimes falls flat, is generally haunting and emotionally absorbing.Kathy H, Tommy and Ruth are three friends tied together by their fate. They are born in an institutionalized orphanage-like home called Hailsham for children ordained to give up their vital organs by the time they reach early adulthood. Here, the students are completely brainwashed by the school’s tightly knit administration and are raised in the healthiest lifestyle possible, for their lives are the basis of although corrupt, brilliant medical breakthroughs.“Never Let Me Go” chronicles the trio’s lives into three sects — early youth, teenage years and adulthood. And while the first chapter is at times incredibly slow, it presents the film’s main themes of love (requited and unrequited) and jealousy.Carey Mulligan’s casting decision is absolutely perfect. As she displayed in last year’s “An Education” (for which she received an Academy Award nomination) she shows effortless grace and a subdued dramatic presence that fits the role of Kathy divinely. Andrew Garfield is strong here as well — not of the status of his co-starring ladies, but his portrayal of Tommy is tender and soft.But it was Keira Knightley’s complex and dynamic performance as Ruth that was the true knockout. Knightley possesses a Streep-like quality, displaying Ruth’s pain and atonement all on her face and through her eyes — her words delivered so authentically that by the film’s last chapter, we understand Ruth the way we understand Kathy from chapter one.The film’s problem is Mark Romanek. I so greatly wish this film was in the hands of a director like Joe Wright (“Atonement,” “Pride & Prejudice”) or Jonathon Demme (“Rachel Getting Married,” “The Silence of the Lambs”). Romanek plays up the dramatic tension of his scenes so far so that certain scenes and characters became unbelievable and even laughable. A more retrospective directorial technique would have made for a more emotionally effective experience.Aesthetically, the film is a dream. The photography, done by cinematographer Adam Kimmel (“Capote,” “Lars and the Real Girl”) is one of the movie’s most engaging elements and creates a dreary and almost ominous atmosphere.What makes this film so devastating is the completely accepted fate of the three friends. Kathy owned a car, was exposed to the outside world, but her morbid destiny was so embedded into her life that she was grateful for such little that she had. Although flawed, “Never Let Me Go” is nothing like anything I’ve seen and should indeed be seen.Joe ColajezziSpecial Report Editor