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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.”

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