20 December 2012
IMDB: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 71%(critics), 70%(audience)
Roger Ebert: 4/4 stars
Stars: Keira Knightly, Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield
Written By: Kazuo Ishiguro(novel), Alex Garland(screenplay)
Directed By: Mark Romanek
Release Date: 25 November 2010
Described by IMDB as: "As children, Ruth, Kathy and Tommy, spend their childhood at a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. As they grow into young adults, they find that they have to come to terms with the strength of the love they feel for each other, while preparing themselves for the haunting reality that awaits them."
*This Review contains some small Spoilers*
Is it wrong to call a little girl a evil? Because I feel just about nothing else for young Ruth(Ella Purnell) in the film. I feel only absolute heartbreak for young Kathy (Isobel Meikle-Small), who, by the way, was amazingly casted as she looks unbelievably like adult Kathy(Carey Mulligan). I would probably say the same for both young Tommy(Charlie Rowe) and adult Tommy(Andrew Garfield). Besides the fact that they casted well for common looks, Knightly, Mulligan, and Garfield are some of the best young actors from the UK at the moment, if not THE best. They all have very impressive resumes, and although at the time Andrew Garfield was probably a slightly unknown name (despite the success ofThe Social Network), he's obviously now known for his role as Spiderman in the new film The Amazing Spiderman.
I'm surprised this isn't a more popular film, as I stumbled upon it by accident, not because I'd heard anything about it, because everyone loves a good love story, especially a tragic one. Although, its a pretty difficult story as well. It is incredibly heartbreaking from the moment you find out what their entire role in life is. I also love how interesting and unique this story is. I mean, there have been movies where there have been people created for the sole purpose of being organ donors(like The Island), but none that show that they were raised from children, it wasn't a crazy action film, it was a calm, sad story focusing on both their childhood and growing up from there. Its also sort of funny that the saddest part of the film is not that their being farmed for organs, but the sheer dispair you feel for Kathy H(Mulligan) when you see the boy she loves being taken from under her nose.
I suppose another reason why its another difficult movie for people to watch is the real question of morales that obviously have to be brought up. Is it morally sound to bring children into the world, isolate them from society, and raise them knowing the whole time that none of them will make it past their mid-twenties because they will all be farmed for their organs once they hit a certain age. How far are people willing to go to stay alive a bit longer? How many people would be ok with knowing that their organs are coming from people who are going to be born and raised for the sole reason of giving up their organs, not having a life, but just living long enough to be able to go through 1-4 surgeries, depending on how strong they are.
I've seen this film a couple of times now and I adore it every time. I'd recommend it to basically anyone, but only a person who can handle a sad film will enjoy this film. Its not a comedy, its not a romance film, it is an extremely tragic story about love and loss.
I'll gladly give it a 9/10. It's definitely one of my all-time favorites.
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