Never Let Me Go review

In short won’t make any money, will bag plenty of awards, and is simply brilliant.

Never let me go is the third screenplay from writer Alex Garland, who also wrote the novel The Beach. Adapted from the book by the author Kazuo Ishiguro and directed by Mark Romanek it is the story of three friends growing up in an English boarding school in the 1970’s and how their relationships grow and fade over the next two decades. Following so far? All sounding pretty normal at this point I grant you but here is the twist. The film genre is given as a thriller, which it is to an extent, but the real genre of the film is kept hidden to try and stop people being put off from going, because it is a science fiction film and a fantastic one at that.

The film is set in an alternate reality where there have been significant scientific breakthroughs that prolong the life expectancy of people and have all but removed terminal illnesses. Any further explanation of the plot would probably reduce the enjoyment of the film so I’ll concentrate on the reasons why the film is so superb.

First of all the plot is clever, it makes you think and leaves you with questions and ponderings long after the screening has finished. The premises is different to a lot of other science fiction films and its grounding in a reality that, although alternate, is very similar to Britain in the 1970s to 1990s gives it a realism that brings the ideas of the film home with so much extra force. Although a voiceover at the end seems to almost forget the intelligence it has assumed the audience as possessed throughout the rest of the film, it isn’t enough to stop the film being exceptional.

If the plot and central idea did not make this film stand out enough the emotion of the story certainly will. A love story but not in the normal sense, as the story reaches its climax there are more than enough touching and poignant moments.

But the main reason for watching this film is simply the three main performances. Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan are all gripping in their understatement and all will surely be tipped for awards. 

As the confident and eager to seem worldly Ruth, Knightley gives the kind of performance we know she is capable of and lead performances in larger American films such as A Dangerous Method and The Emperor’s Children will show if her career is continuing the impressive acting trend seen from Atonement onward. Garfield as the emotional and often confused Tommy announces himself as most definitely an actor to be watched. And by showing the awkwardness that is necessary for the webhead, the upcoming Spiderman reboot has made a great choice for Peter Parker. Finally as the leader of the piece Cathy, Mulligan follows up her fantastic performance in An Education with another role worthy of at least an Oscar nomination. The maturity and skill with which she handles her performance point to the simple conclusion that she is one of Britain’s best actresses.   

Easily a five star film and one that will be heavily nominated at the BAFTA’s (I’m betting 7 or 8) with 3 or 4 nominations at the Oscars with at least one for one of the leads.

Red Bull Flying Without Wings

Congratulations to Red Bull Racing who in only their seventh season have won the Formula One constructors championship. Whilst this relatively new team taking on the might of McLaren and Ferrari and leaving them in the dust, as well as the established teams of Renault, Mercedes and Williams it is hardly a shock. The Adrian Newey designed car has been the fastest in Formula One for the last two seasons. 

In 2009 they had four, one-two finishes and another two race victories. Red Bull missed out on the Constructers title last year to Brawn by 18.5 points a deficit they would have easily overcome had it not been for the five retirements and continual engine problems the cars suffered from.

This year the RB6 has been even faster, showing a level of superiority in their car over the other teams unseen in Formula One since the Ferrari cars of the early 2000s. Of the 18 races so far this season Red Bull have had pole positions in 14 of them. Only half of these pole positions have led to a Red Bull victory and it was only going to be the Red Bull’s themselves who again would prevent them winning the constructors championship. Despite the best attempts of both the drivers, the management and the tendency of the car to break Red Bull have managed to succeed this season. 

Helped by McLaren having a much slower car, that every single update it has had put on it failing to eat into the huge speed gap they have between them and the Red Bulls, and by Ferrari only allowing Alonso to score points for fear that any success for Massa would lead to the Spaniard throwing his toys out of the pram, Red Bull’s success was no surprise.

But as I watched the coverage of the aftermath of the Brazilian Grand Prix last Sunday I couldn’t shake the feeling that although the constructors is important, everyone was looking forward to this Sunday in Abu Dhabi where the drivers title will be decided. The title that everyone in Formula One wants to win regardless of whether they are actually driving the car or not and despite all their clear advantages over their rivals this season, Red Bull could still end up with neither of their drivers winning the drivers title. 

And if this happens the Constructors title will hold very little consolation in the face of the fact that either Red Bull driver should have had this title won long before Formula One touched down in the deserts of Abu Dhabi.