Never Let Me Go

In this dystopian coming-of-age film by Mark Romanek, based on the Kazuo Ishiguro novel of the same name, the plot leaves too many unanswered questions to be considered a success. Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and Andrew Garfield star as three childhood friends caught in a tumultuous love triangle. They also happen to be clones created by the British government whose sole purpose is to have their organs harvested one by one until they "complete," the clones' term for death. Somehow they're all unquestioningly resigned to this fate, an issue that is a microcosm of Never Let Me Go's biggest problem—so much is glossed over and taken for granted that it distracts from the story. The gargantuan elephant in the room goes completely unnoticed (save perhaps by Garfield's character, Tommy, who paints one in art class early in the movie). Cinematographer Adam Kimmel shoots the film beautifully, with a muted color scheme of drab grays and browns, sweeping views of English countryside, and delicately crafted tableaux, which, had the plot been less inert, would have lent a gravitas that is lost in translation from the page to the screen. Solid performances from the cast, including Charlotte Rampling as a stern headmistress, ultimately cannot save Never Let Me Go, which fails to address the ethical questions arising from its alternate reality.