Make an Argument
By Eric Hughes
August 18, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
I’m going to go on ahead and assume that the book, published about five years ago, will be in a lot of peoples’ hands once the release of its same-named theatrical adaptation draws nearer. For now, Fox Searchlight has September 15th circled.
I was pretty much blown away by Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro’s sixth novel in a professional writing career that dates back all the way to 1982. The author was exemplary at revealing little details along the way – usually satisfying, but never exposing the “big picture (a la Lost) – to keep readers much like myself invested in the story and where it was headed (and maybe more importantly, where it would end).
In an effort to reveal as little as possible – trust me, it’s one of those – Never Let Me Go is a dystopian work mostly set at what can best be described as a boarding school for boys and girls. Largely a book of flashbacks, the novel is a first-person narrative written (or spoken) by a character named Kathy H., a respectable young girl who comes to realize along with her circle of friends that the world she lives in isn’t exactly as it seems.
Again, to not give too much away here, the boarding school is tended to by Guardians, the “students” incessantly make things that they hope will one day be deemed creative enough for the Gallery and, when the female students have sex, they can never, ever have babies.
Even though Never Let Me Go is set in 1990s England, it certainly isn’t the 1990s England we’re used to.
Extremely satisfied with the novel at least, I did a little research on the movie adaptation and have concluded that between success and failure, Never Let Me Go will be a success, both on the creative front and with the people who see it. Here’s why:
It’s short and fairly simple
Perhaps one of my least important points (but at the same time, one of the most practical), Never Let Me Go is a breezy 288 pages. Split into three distinct parts, the book moves along at a brisk pace and can easily be completed in a day or two (if not a single rainy afternoon). This bodes well for the project’s writers and editors, who I’d assume used the delete key significantly less times than the people behind, say, any of the Harry Potter adaptations.
Along these lines, the story is also a simple one, but not in the way you’re probably thinking. What I mean by simple is that Ishiguro’s language is easy to understand, even if the book’s subject matter is strictly for mature audiences and its themes will require some time to digest.
And, it isn’t that Ishiguro talks down to his readers or waters down what he sets out to do with his work. Instead, the author uses clear, descriptive language to tell his story, which gradually turns into a dark and haunting beast.
It’s timely
I think “without giving too much away” should be the official tagline of this week’s Make an Argument column. But, without giving too much away, Never Let Me Go’s storyline is a timely one. I’m fascinated, really, by the way in which it moves from “oh, this is a rather interesting story about a world much different from our own” to “boy, isn’t it rather strange that Ishiguro’s dystopian universe is actually aligned a lot closer to our own.”
The key, I think, is to separate yourself from what you’re probably preconditioned to believe about the world within Never Let Me Go. Instead of thinking as old-fashioned the customs of the boarding school and the lifestyles of its students, try to be of the mindset that things just… are. (In an M. Night Shyamalan/Village-y sort of way, but then again not really).
In that way – and that’s all I can will myself to say here! – Never Let Me Go is a timely piece of fiction, which really would do nothing but benefit its legs at the box office.
The studio
There’s something really comforting in the fact that Never Let Me Go was produced by DNA Films and Film4. What are those? Exactly.
Film4 is a digital television station in the U.K. and Ireland that screens films. I’m more concerned, though, in DNA Films, which is the studio behind movies like 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Love Actually, Notes on a Scandal, Sunshine and The Last King of Scotland.
Not everything DNA touches turns to gold – not every studio can be Pixar, of course – but its track record is solid nonetheless. With DNA, I get the impression that Never Let Me Go has an acceptable, yet not bloated budget.
And it being distributed by Fox Searchlight could bode well for Never Let Me Go’s visibility at the box office. Recent favorites of mine like Fantastic Mr. Fox and (500) Days of Summer are Searchlight products, as well as The Wrestler, Juno, Thank You For Smoking and Sideways.
The people
Before reading Never Let Me Go, I had read at one point that Keira Knightley had been cast. At the time, I didn’t think much of it beyond, “Oh hey, it’s Keira Knightley. She’s a good actress and yada yada.”
As I was reading, though, I became impatient with the fact that she may have been cast as Kathy, which in my mind made no sense at all. Knightley screamed Ruth, and I couldn’t understand how the studio or the casting director had gotten that wrong.
But when I finished the book, I finally reached out to several resources – I feared spoilers – and noticed that she hadn’t been cast as Kathy, but as Ruth! Even better, Carey Mulligan would play Kathy, a wonderful casting decision. I can totally see her pulling off the part.
Behind the camera, I like that Adam Kimmel (Lars and the Real Girl, Capote) is the cinematographer and that Mark Romanek is director. Romanek’s last feature was 2002’s One Hour Photo. Even his most recent music video celebrated a fifth birthday this year.
As Romanek tells Rope of Silicon: “From the moment I finished the novel, it became my dream to film it. Ishiguro's conception is so daring, so eerie and beautiful. Alex Garland's adaptation is sensitive and precise. The cast is perfect, the crew superb.”