I saw both of these a couple of weeks ago now and, owing to generally being busy, didn't get chance to blog about them, so excuse the sparse reviews as I've forgotten most of my thoughts on these two generally enjoyable films. Never Let Me Go is based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's ostensibly a sci-fi story but not what I would describe as sci-fi. Tron 2, this is not. Our three main characters, sensible Kathy (Carey Mulligan), spiteful Ruth (Keira Knightley, and boyish Tommy (Andrew Garfield) are denizens of a mysterious boarding school called Hailsham. As with the novel we are given very little context but are aware from the start that these children aren't normal. There is no mention of parents and from the veiled subtext of their teacher's conversations about and with them we come to realise that these children are kept apart from the rest of the world for a reason. However the mystery of their existence is only half the story. The bones of the plot is the relationships between the trio, and this is fleshed out in the second half of the book as we discover their function in this parallel world to our own.
The film is kept delightfully loyal to the book, which I enjoyed but was eager to see on screen. I was frustrated by the lack of context and disappointed by the 'revelation' at the end. However I suspected tht in the film they would have to give at least a little more context because whereas in a novel an author can deliberately omit description of the world to keep readers in the dark; in a film, by its very nature, the audience has to be shown a lot more. I was not disappointed. Director Mark Romanek has realised the book beautifully and it was great to finally 'see' Hailsham and its environs, as well as the medical centres where Tommy, Kathy, and Ruth end up. The characters themselves are impeccably cast. Miss Knightley is perfect as the beautiful and misleadingly confident Ruth, Andrew Garfield has the perfect look as boyish and fragile Tommy, and Carey Mulligan is stellar as Kathy - I loved her just as much as I did in the book, if not more. She has such an appealing look and nature that you can't help but side with her against Ruth. The (anti)climax of the story was also more satisfying to me somehow, perhaps because you get to see exactly what the mysterious donations entail. The book does a good job of conveying the creepy nature of the medical centres, but obviously seeing the harsh reality in gory objective detail, rather than through Kathy's schooled eyes makes it more disturbing. As with the book, this isn't crowd-pleasing sci-fi type action, but it's a gently English story that will make you think about where technology might take us.
I missed Ondine at the cinema but wanted to see it because it looked like an unusual love story in a pretty location, and also it stars Colin Farrell with long hair, chunky fishermen's sweaters, and a thick Oirish accent. Yum. Fisherman, Syracuse (Farrell), is out on his boat one day when he finds a young woman (Alicja Bachleda) caught up in his nets. She seems disoriented and scared so he hides her away in his mother's old cabin by the shore and tries to find out who she is and why she was floating around off the coast of Ireland. His wheelchair-bound daughter, Annie, meanwhile discovers Ondine and decides that she is a 'selkie' - a Celtic mermaid - the legend of which seems to tie up with Ondine's discovery and the little she confesses to them. As Syrcause and Annie become more enchanted by Ondine they find out that her back-story is a little less like the fairytale they imagine.
Ondine is not a film that everyone will enjoy, it's all rather soppy, and full of whimsy and Irish stereotypes, but it's charming and genuinely romantic too (in fact Farrell and Bachleda got together while filming and now have a daughter). This is a fairytale but it's a bit of a grimy one - Syracuse is an ex-alcoholic and Annie's mother, played by Dervla Kirwin, and her new husband are still heavy-drinkers, which causes a tragedy near the middle of the film. It's not a ground-breaking plot but I liked the twist and the revelation of who Ondine really is. Colin Farrell looks appealingly rustic and is an entertaining hero - he goes to his local priest (played by Stephen Rea), not because he is a devoted Catholic, but because there is no branch of AA in town so he treats the confessional as such - confessing to how many units he has or hasn't drunk that week. The character of Annie is slightly twee but again enjoyable, she is a savvy young thing and it's fun watching her run rings around her devoted father in her electric wheelchair. Watch it for the pretty locations and pretty central couple; perfect fare for a Sunday afternoon with your knitting and some chocolate.
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