How silly of me to forget. September brings not one, not two, but three film festivals which should eventually overlap (and it might be four if NYFF starts this month...sheesh). Telluride has hosted some interesting films over the years, but from this year's line-up, none caught my eye as much as Mark Romanek's adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's amazing novel "Never Let Me Go."
The film's first review thus far certainly gets things off to a great start. Peter Sciretta from /Film writes, "The film is emotionally powerful, a haunting meditation about love, death, humanity, and acceptance," and says that the performances "are all top notch - fantastic performances across the board, but Carey Mulligan is center stage." His only complaint in his (9/10) review is a minor quibble with an aspect of the story (which I won't spoil or detail), which - having read the novel - is a somewhat valid question narratively, but I think there's thematic justification for it (how the film handles it, however, might be the reason for him taking issue with it).
Meanwhile, Movie City New's David Poland is equally, if not more, ecstatic, proclaiming Romanek's (he gives special praise to the director) second feature film to be a "masterpiece...a film we'll be discussing, frame by frame, in schools 20 years from now." Like Sciretta, Poland also gives across-the-board raves to the performances, and gives Mulligan the most credit, while also mentioning the strong work from smaller roles played by Charlotte Rampling and Sally Hawkins. He also mentions the recently released score (on Itunes) by Rachel Portman, which he says could be the one to be this year. Incontention's Kris Tapely has a different take, however, and says that the film "kept [him] at arm's length from frame one. There is a distance here, a cold sense of removal from what would otherwise be an extremely moving narrative." In the rest of the **/**** review, Tapely praises the performances, cinematography, and the score (which he claims is the film's best Oscar bet) but reiterates his point that the film left him cold. Awards Daily's Eric Bialas echoes this and writes that "the movie distances itself from the viewer too much to ever really shock viewers when its main emotional scenes arrives." Having read the book, this feels a bit like missing the point; the story is never meant to be built on shocks or 'gotcha' moments, though it's easy to see why one might believe that it's what the film is building towards.
Additional Reviews:
Variety: "...a fragile little four-leaf clover of a movie that's emotionally devastating, yet all too easily trampled by cynics." / "...Romanek has more on his mind than simply making people cry."
FirstShowing.Net: "There are many great elements to the film: Adam Kimmel's very beautiful cinematography, Carey Mulligan's phenomenal performance, Rachel Portman's mesmerizing score, Mark Romanek's careful direction, even the concept and story overall." (9/10)
Thompson On Hollywood: "...tells us a lot about who we are by showing us something that could be."
Telluride Verdict: It is strongly acted, shot, and scored, yet Romanek's direction and Alex Garland's adaptation will most likely prove to be extremely divisive.
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