Never Let Me Go

"Never Let Me Go"
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, Charlotte Rampling, Sally Hawkins
Directed by: Mark Romanek
103 minutes
2010/UK

Having not read the novel Never Let Me Go, it's hard to determine how much detail and depth from the novel was left out of the film. Having said that, I will go on and say that "Never Let Me Go" is a film that doesn't hold its audiences hand, and audiences looking for easy answers and conclusions will be fairly disappointed, save for a final voice-over by a lead character that basically spells out the themes of the film for its viewer.

The film takes place in an alternate and cold reality where things aren't quite normal. We learn that a medical breakthrough in 1952 provided cures for once incurable diseases. In 1967, the human life expectancy surpassed 100 years.  Thinking back on it now, if the world of the film was as realized as Cuaron's "Children of Men," I think it would have impacted me more. The tricky part resides in the fact that Romanek's shot selection and mood are both on target throughout.  Our primal insight and perspective into this world is from the viewpoint of three kids who attend an upscale boarding school called Hailsham. The kids are Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth, each played by Mulligan, Garfield, and Knightley. Hailsham is no normal school, the kids are clearly under the watchful supervision of the school superiors, the main one being Miss Emily, played by Charlotte Rampling. She informs them early that they must take care of themselves in the best and most fully realized way. The kids have a notion instilled in them of what their future path will be; this path comprises the rest of the narrative.

The film is sectioned off into three parts. The first is the days of Hailsham, where Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth all come into close friendship and young romance with each other. Together they experience friendship, love, betrayal and regret. The film takes a turn when Miss Lucy (Hawkins) informs the kids out of pity of their true fate. *** Spoilers**** The kids are basically clones designed to grow into middle age and donate their organs off. After they donate through three stages, also called 'completion,' they die. The harsh and stark truth of this reveal is a heartbreaking moment in the film, especially as its viewed and understood by the kids at Hailsham. The narrative then immediately jumps into the future where the three kids are young adults living in cottages awaiting their first donation.

The problem the narrative possesses is that it doesn't give the viewer enough time with these characters before the end rolls around. Yes, we're supposed to have cared for them way before the end, but as each section of the film was presented, I felt more disconnect and detached, and that is a problem. The days at Hailsham are perhaps the most intriguing and heartbreaking, but most of the narrative occurs after this. After we've left the school, the romance between Tommy and Ruth is on full display. Kathy is isolated from them on a sort of emotional level, but all three are bound by their past and dreadful fate.

 The doners are all basically looked down upon by older people they come across, something that the script doesn't delve too much into throughout the film. We view awkward but realistic scenes of the trio and their two other friends at a restaurant, Tommy, Ruth, and Kathy have no idea what to do when a waitress hovers over them awaiting their order. They're completely out of touch and out of place in the world they live in, and it's obvious. They watch late night television and laugh at things they don't understand. The interesting thing is how Tommy, Ruth, and Kathy's dynamic with one another morphs and changes throughout the film. It's not a clichéd love triangle, but a fear of being alone that the three share.

The script by Alex Garland is a major problem. The three main actors do a great job and the emotions are there for them to display, but it just doesn't reach us like it should. I'm not sure if this is due to the coldness of the world they live in, or that the narrative is harshly rushed. I wanted more time with these characters, as their dynamic, while heavily complex and fragile, isn't fully realized like it should be. We start in Hailsham, go to the cottages, then straight to the last section titled completion. The film is under two hours, and it's possible that Romanek wanted us to feel what time quickly slipping away like the characters did. I would have liked another 45 minutes or an hour for this story to take form.

 As I mentioned earlier, we're not dialed in to all the details of the characters' reality. We know they don't have much time and that they can choose to be a carer before they donate, a carer looks after and supports other doners, Kathy is a carer. Mulligan gives the most restrained performance in the film, she accepts the given scenario and tries to make the best of it. Her character Kathy is unlike Tommy and Ruth in the way that she doesn't look for solutions and answers. Garfield's Tommy is heartbreaking in his efforts to prolong life and seek out rumors he's heard of life extensions given to those who are in love. Ruth is an angrier, but more accepting version of Tommy. She's the first to donate and the final image of her character is the perhaps the most haunting in the film.

"Never Let Me Go" is ultimately a puzzling effort from Romanek. How can so much proposed emotion along with amazing performances go unnoticed and consequently not even enhance one's opinion on the film? It's unfair to call this project a disappointment , but I'm willing to offer it another chance to see if I truly missed something. The directing and the performances are there, the story just isn't. The blending of sci-fi and brute drama is an intriguing idea, but "Never Let Me Go" fails to encompass any consistency between the two, resulting in a unfortunate head scratcher.

Grade: 3/5

Let Me In

"Let Me In"
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas
Directed by: Matt Reeves
115 minutes
2010/USA

The similarities between "Let Me In," and its Swedish predecessor "Let the Right One In," are immediately evident. With a slightly different take on the material, and with Americanized sensibilities, "Let Me In," struck me as the better film.

It takes place in the Reagan 80s', where the country is exposed to a fear- like atmosphere, and one of moral judgment. This film's setting is in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where a bullied young boy named Owen (Smit-McPhee) is isolated amongst his peers, and  disconnected from his father. Owen, played by Kody Smit-McPhee, who also played the young boy in "The Road," is a suitable choice for this role. Not only for his fragile frame, but for his sincere ability to make us care. He and his mother live together in an apartment complex where not much happens. Owen plays in the courtyard most nights, while his mother is busy dealing with her divorce. She doesn't recognize how awful he is treated at school, he's abused by kids much bigger than him, but of the same age.

As the film opens, we observe a cop's investigation into several grisly murders in the town. The cop is played by Elias Koteas, one of the best character actors out there. There is a hospital scene in the beginning that serves as the crucial framework of the picture. The scene appears twice, the second time being more telling and effective. The level of intrigue and curiosity is displayed to full effect as we watch Koteas' character observe the horror of the supernatural throughout the film.

It's a story about love and loneliness. A young girl named Abby and her father/guardian move into Owen's complex. Owen observes Abby walking through the snow with no shoes at first glance. She's a stoic and pale little thing, but the young actress nails it. Abby is played by Chloe Moretz, who also played the younger sister in "(500) Days of Summer." The girl and Owen become friends, but she warns him it can't last due to what she really is. In this film the relationship with her father, played by Richard Jenkins, goes much more in depth in terms of finding humanity than in the original. Jenkins gives a quiet, but rather crucial performance. Their dynamic is based upon him finding human blood for her.

Reeves brings his own visual style to the film, though gradually separating the his visual look from the 2008 version. Both settings of each film are fully intact, as much of the bonding between Abby and Owen take place in the courtyard during the winter. The best sequence in the film involves the father inside of a car, and contains a wonderful and difficult POV shot on Reeves' behalf. The 80's trademark of this film isn't overbearing, but is welcome in its attempt to mix the most innocence of pop songs with violent and disturbing murder sequences. Michael Giacchino's chilling score also contributes to the suspense and gripping nature of the story.

As the narrative moves along at a pace I really admired, the story's shape and texture becomes much more sympathetic and bleak. There is definitely more bloodshed in this version, but American audiences will have no problem enjoying that quality. Reeves stays loyal to the original's mood, it's more of a coming of age art house horror film than an all out gore fest. While some may say this remake was unnecessary, I really enjoyed the performances and the cautious directing by Reeves. Even if you've seen the original, you haven't seen "Let Me In."

Grade: 3.5/5

The Social Network

"The Social Network"
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Rooney Mara
Directed by: David Fincher
120 minutes
2010/USA

A common thread running through David Fincher's films are obsessive characters that are often driven to succeed or come out on top due to their various social and cultural surroundings. In "Zodiac," the investigation into the notorious 70s' serial killer not only took the lives of those murdered, but of the men dedicated to solving the mystery. Again in "Fight Club," Fincher examined a fractured man and his attempts to not conform to a lifestyle of numbing complacency. In "Seven," serial killer John Doe leads two detectives through a maze of eye-opening events that force them to see the bleak nature of the world.

"The Social Network," is another achievement for director David Fincher. Having come off the success of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Fincher's is going for something less complicated here in terms of aesthetic and approach, but just as grandiose. His collaboration with writer Aaron Sorkin is one of the great stories of the year, as both of their styles appropriately come together for this film.

 This film chronicles another obsessive, the true life Mark Zuckberg, who at the age of 23 became the world's youngest billionaire. The film starts in Harvard circa 2003 where Zuckerberg has just been dumped by his girlfriend Erica Albright, played by Rooney Mara. Their conversation at a bar ranges from friendly chit-chat, and then escalates into rapid verbal attacks from both parties. His insecurity and his need for social acceptance into prestigious Harvard clubs is what propel his life into further betrayal, lawsuits, and wealth as his invention. spreads like wildfire. It didn't start because of a girl, but due to a generation waiting to breakout and change the world.

 Zuckerberg is played by Jesse Eisenberg, criticized by detractors as being a clone of the Michael Cera school of acting, Eisenberg proves in this film that he's more than a one note actor, and actually far more dynamic than Cera. The film follows the chronology of events through the eyes of the key players that were involved in Facebook's startup. Zuckerberg is essentially a genius, but stands without any firm relationship, other than to his friend Eduardo Saverin, who is played by the very talented Andrew Garfield. Zuckerberg's anger stemming from his breakup causes him to blog about her, while also hacking into the Harvard networks and setting up a page that pits Harvard females against each other in a battle of who's more attractive. These early scenes are what establish the mood and angst that the rest of the film delves further into. It's all basically child's play for Zuckerberg, whose ignorant deeds are praised and scolded throughout campus. We learn early on what makes Zuckberg tick, he's some blend of uber nerd combined with mild human disdain.

Zuckberg's actions get the attention of three other Harvard students. Their are Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, world class rowers that come from money, they're both played by Armie Hammer. The twins and their friend played by Max Minghella have started an idea for social networking for Harvard students. They need Mark for the technical aspects, such as writing code for the site. Mark swears his allegiance but expands the idea into his own creation, Facebook. Mark's betrayal leads to lawsuits and fierce deposition scenes that inter-cut Mark's rise to stardom. When the character of Napster creator Shawn Parker (Timberlake) enters the picture, the dynamic between Zuckberg and Saverin becomes more intense and tragic. Timberlake does strong work here, as Parker has already had his success and knows the value of Zuckerberg's creation. He's essentially the devil in the form of a 20 something sex symbol, nudging Mark's ideas toward a dark path. He proclaims to Mark, "This is our time," this is perhaps the truest and most identifiable trait of the generation that started Napster, MySpace, and Facebook.

The way that Sorkin displays the betrayal of these characters and Zuckerberg's rise to power is poetic.The film's narrative structure is most similar to "Rashoman," the 1950s' Kurosawa film, which shows events from multiple perspectives.  "The Social Network," mirrors the same style, cutting between past, present, and future. The style of the narrative along with the exceptional script by veteran Aaron Sorkin is what gives the film its nonstop juice. It's easy to imagine the film being an average procedural, but in Sorkin's hands it encompasses the tone of a thriller with its breakneck pacing and wit. All of the characters talk fast, most notably Zuckerberg, who's bitterness toward others for not being on par with his genius is something to behold, thus showing the why casting Eisenberg was the obvious choice.

Fincher's ability to shoot these different settings with intimacy and urgency is what stands out in all of his films. The distinct look of his framing and photography is always identifiable. His use of dark and washed out palette's has always extenuated the harsh settings of his previous film, but in "The Social Network," Fincher is suggesting that Internet hacking, college culture, and betrayal are all on par with the themes of his past films.

The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross supplements the material as well. It's consistently effective in its mood. This is the best ensemble of the year so far. Andrew Garfield, who will play the next Spider-Man, particularly stands out as the betrayed friend and CFO of Facebook. In a way, we as the audience are him, the human connection to a story that is mostly filled with cold, but interesting souls who changed the way we interact and live today.

Grade: 4/5