Never let me go

So on the plane back from LA to Auckland I watched "Never Let Me Go". It's a film based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro (for all you law kids who have done Ethics, that guy who wrote "The Remains of the Day", the story about a butler who was so consumed by his role as the butler that he couldn't bring himself to tell his lady butler friend that he loved her as that would be unprofessional). Anyway, I enjoyed the film, and it made me think about some stuff.

The film is about three people named Kathy (Carey Mulligan whom I don't really know much about but liked her performance), Tommy (Andrew Garfield - he's so pretty) and Ruth (Keira Knightley with her unfortunate mandible situation). As kids, the trio grew up in Hailsham, a seemingly ordinary English boarding school. The children are taught in classes, they're made to exercise, fed well and made to create art for the headmistress' gallery. But as is revealed to the children by a young new teacher, they are all destined for the same fate: they are to grow up and donate organs to sick people who need them. None of the children are likely to survive beyond their mid-twenties, as most donors "complete" after their third or fourth donation. Some may grow up to be carers of donors, which would prolong their lives for a few years, before they are inevitably made to become donors themselves and complete after a few donations. The kids aren't shocked by this news, and all accept their destiny. It turns out that the kids don't have biological parents; they have been modelled on exiting persons and created in a lab. Nothing is kept a secret, everything's out in the open and everyone just lives with the fact that this is going on.

At Hailsham, young Kathy develops feelings for young Tommy, but young Ruth gets in the way and steals him from her (passive-aggressively). They all remain friends, and when they turn 18 they move out of Hailsham and into the Cottages, where they are designated to live until they begin donating their organs. Tommy and Ruth are still a couple, and Kathy is the awkward third wheel. But you can tell that Tommy and Kathy get along really well and they have a lot more genuine affection for each other than Tommy and Ruth. They hear about the possibility of donor couples who are in love to defer donations for a few years so that they can spend some time together, but brush it off as rumours. As time goes on, Kathy becomes a carer, and Tommy and Ruth split up before they start donating their organs. They all lose touch.

Years pass by and Tommy and Ruth have completed a couple of donations. Kathy serendipitously finds out Ruth's whereabouts, and reconnects with her. The girls also track down Tommy and the three of them become reunited. They take a trip together to the coast, and Ruth apologises for having gotten between Tommy and Kathy all those years ago. She admits to having been jealous and insecure when she saw the two of them getting along so well as kids in Hailsham. To make it up to them, she gives them the information of the person to speak to about deferring donations as a couple in love. After their trip, Ruth donates for the last time and dies. Kathy and Tommy visit the woman, but it turns out that the deferrals were indeed just a rumour, and there is no way to postpone donations once a donor has begun to donate. Kathy watches Tommy on the operating table, about to donate for the last time. The film ends with Kathy reflecting on her existence and on Tommy.

So yeah, a pretty bleak story. But I thought it had some interesting themes and messages. The first was the idea of "duty before self", similar to the butler story. These characters ultimately didn't question the purpose of their lives; they accepted their role as donors without resistance. They got frustrated from time to time and tried to get around donating for a little bit, but they didn't really do anything to change their fate. Perhaps it was because they didn't know any better? Maybe they thought it was impossible for them to change the system? That their calling in life as donors was a noble thing? I thought it was sad how the characters failed to recognise that they were entitled to normal lives as well, just like the people they were donating their organs to, even though they had been created for that purpose and that purpose alone. They were still human in every sense of the word. I reckon if I had been Kathy, I would've tried to fight my very foreseeable future. I would've tried to run away or something. Maybe I'm not noble enough.

On a related point, the notion of "self-worth and identity" spoke to me. At one point in the film, Ruth thinks she has found her "original" (the person that the donors are modelled on) but after realising that this is not the case, she gets really angry and bitter, saying that they're all modelled on human trash like junkies and prostitutes. In another scene, Kathy looks through a porn magazine to try and spot her original. These characters didn't really know who they were, or what they were truly worth as individuals. They didn't realise they had souls of their own, regardless of the fact that they were created in a lab to function as donors. And I guess a relevant thematic question to the ideas of self-worth and identity is, "What does it mean to be human?"

Another concept that the film addresses is, "What does a significant life look like?" What does it mean to lead a meaningful life? Living to die for the wellbeing and happiness of others probably fits the bill. But if you have no real choice in the matter, is it still significant and meaningful? Or is it just cruel? Who are we to say that one life can be discounted for the sake of a few others?

Finally, "death" (more specifically, impending death) was also another key theme of the film. To me, the fate of the three main characters was shocking because they are all doomed to die so young. I mean, we all know that we're all going to die someday, but for most of us that thought isn't really immediate. It's a far-off, "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it" sort of thing. But for these characters, death was always a very near and real thing, despite their youth. This aspect of the film reminded me of Ecclesiastes 12:1, which says, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, 'I find no pleasure in them.'" The movie made me think about the importance of keeping our ultimate end in mind and living faithfully, each and every day. Because if you wait until you're old and about to die, it's too late.

I did have one issue with the story though. Tommy didn't exactly reject Ruth's advances, and they did stay together for years. If he really liked Kathy he should've either never gone out with Ruth at all, or ended things sooner. I thought it was unfair how Ruth blamed herself wholly for keeping Tommy and Kathy apart.

Overall, I thought the film was pretty good. The music and cinematography were really beautiful. I'm going to read the book soon, looking forward to it.

G.