After several people who had read Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2005 novel told me how grim the story was, it was good to finally see this sombre, disturbing film and make the decision myself. As our audience grows in number, so does our post-film discussion group.
A key element in Never Let Me Go (2010) was the way in which the young people at Hailsham boarding school stoically accepted their fate. Their body parts would be used for their clones and they would finally euphemistically ‘complete’.
We wondered why the children didn’t fight back – they were “lambs to the slaughter” and like cult members. Some of us felt it was due to the level of manipulation they received. The children believed the frightening ‘Big Bad Wolf’ stories of what lay beyond the boundaries of their school. As they were young, they also knew no different. Tommy’s anger expressed through his screaming and his very personal artwork provided the only rebellion we see.
For some of us, the storyline was a wider warning against a totalitarian state. The beach scene with the gutted ship symbolised the loss of freedom for Kathy, Tommy and Ruth. We found the use of children’s art – to ‘see if they had any soul’ – to be chilling.
Thanks to our new discussion group participant, we also reflected on ethics, what it means to have purpose in life and the reductive nature of people just being seen for the sum of their body parts. The failure of Kathy and Tommy to obtain a deferral from the inevitable showed totalitarian power triumphing over the sacredness of a loving relationship.
One of our group gave us a fascinating personal insight into the sensitive way that cadavers are treated by teaching hospitals. Families who make body donations are deeply valued.
Anne
I found this film impactful, not necessarily because I 'liked' it, but because I was profoundly moved by the beauty of the young lovers, their fragility and innocence and the tragic realization that they are merely pawns in an experiment, awaiting their inevitable sacrifice. Similar to Lang's M predicting the rise of the Nazi regime, this film serves as a warning about our society's obsession with unattainable beauty, removing our body parts at great risk or adding body parts, for eternal youth. It challenges both ethical and political beliefs, which certainly sparked deep discussions. Since Saturday, I have spoken with two other viewers who, like me, were captivated by the film's visual, dully lit elements and the slow, haunting progression…