Comment on and links to: religion, culture, politics, sexualities, psychoanalysis
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Never Let Me Go
This film did not win any prizes at the Baftas and I doubt if it will at the upcoming Oscars. To write almost anything about it risks spoiling it for potential viewers. All I would say is go and see it.
I would say: "Never Let Me Go... to see it!". Unfortunately I went and what a disappointment! I am not surprised it didn't win any prizes and hope it will never win any. Since the beginning the film is slow, unactractive and tedious. The message (if there was any) clearly failed to reach me. The acting is completely "emotionless" so tipically British, was it done on purpose? During the screening I kept asking myself: "what is the point of all of this? What are they trying to say?". Caracters do not enjoy anything (not even sex!) they look like a buch of autistic and anorexic. Doctors and nurses are happy to collect organs in urealistic operating theatres... There are also gross mistakes such as: "organ donation can cure breast and bowel cancer" really??? I wish! Am I missing something? I am open for discussion. Antonio
Thank you Anonymous. I found the film unsatisfactory whilst I was watching it and was glad it was no longer than it was. Thinking about it afterwards what was chilling was the passivity of the 'children' and made me think about people i have met professionally who have been sexually abused. I thought the lack of emotion portrayed in the film was skilful, in retrospect. It reminded me also of where sexual abuse has taken place it is often hard to believe what has happened. In my field of work, it is sometimes reported that when the clinician is faced with a patient with a history of severe trauma or sexual abuse they can sometimes find themselves falling asleep or struggling to keep their attention. It stuck me after seeing the film that my struggle during the film matched something like being in the presence of a seriously abused patient.
I remember in the film how so many of the characters had what i call 'dead eyes'. I think this was acting not part of the personalities of the actors.
Perhaps the film was an extended metaphor of what happens in a totalitarian society when individuals sacrifice themselves for what they believe is the greater good. Martyrdom, from a psychological view point, is a complex process. Like brainwashing in total institutions/ideologies such as religions, political parties, cults etc, people can be made to do all kind of mad things. This may go some way to explaining why apparent faux pas like "organ donation can cure breast and bowel cancer" can go unchallenged. Maybe.
Thank you for your explanations. It does make a bit of sense but still I feel the film lack of something. It has been a missed opportunity to make a great film, I am glad it is not nominated for any prizes: it doesn't deserve any. I found watching it very irritating mainly becouse I couldn't make any sense of it. Well, this is my personal opinion, someone else may disagree... Antonio.
This film will be out in Italy on 25th of March. I translate a summary of the Italian review just to have a "Continental" feeling. "Never Let me Go is a completely wrong film: wrong is the director and wrong is the cast working with him. The whole film is a frigid nonsense. Paradoxically it is in its best at the beginning during the adolescent years of the protagonists: when they grow up their life and acting becomes a nonsense... The audience is left dissatisfied and disappointed". I'm not very good in translation but at least it gives an idea.
Thanks, Antonio. Can you remember the source of the Italian review? I agree very much with the word "frigid" but I hesitate at "nonsense". I think if you had not had such a negative reaction I would have watched, left and thought little about it. However precisely because there was such a range of responses that it has stayed in my mind.
I welcome there being a range of responses to artistic creations. As in "people read books and books read people".
I thought you might like to know that I have been to do a review of an art exhibition at the Freud Museum in Hampstead next month. It would be fun if friends were able to go and see it so we could compare notes. I will put a note on the blog about the details.
I would say: "Never Let Me Go... to see it!". Unfortunately I went and what a disappointment! I am not surprised it didn't win any prizes and hope it will never win any. Since the beginning the film is slow, unactractive and tedious. The message (if there was any) clearly failed to reach me. The acting is completely "emotionless" so tipically British, was it done on purpose? During the screening I kept asking myself: "what is the point of all of this? What are they trying to say?". Caracters do not enjoy anything (not even sex!) they look like a buch of autistic and anorexic. Doctors and nurses are happy to collect organs in urealistic operating theatres... There are also gross mistakes such as: "organ donation can cure breast and bowel cancer" really??? I wish! Am I missing something? I am open for discussion. Antonio
ReplyDeleteThank you Anonymous. I found the film unsatisfactory whilst I was watching it and was glad it was no longer than it was. Thinking about it afterwards what was chilling was the passivity of the 'children' and made me think about people i have met professionally who have been sexually abused. I thought the lack of emotion portrayed in the film was skilful, in retrospect. It reminded me also of where sexual abuse has taken place it is often hard to believe what has happened. In my field of work, it is sometimes reported that when the clinician is faced with a patient with a history of severe trauma or sexual abuse they can sometimes find themselves falling asleep or struggling to keep their attention. It stuck me after seeing the film that my struggle during the film matched something like being in the presence of a seriously abused patient.
ReplyDeleteI remember in the film how so many of the characters had what i call 'dead eyes'. I think this was acting not part of the personalities of the actors.
Perhaps the film was an extended metaphor of what happens in a totalitarian society when individuals sacrifice themselves for what they believe is the greater good. Martyrdom, from a psychological view point, is a complex process. Like brainwashing in total institutions/ideologies such as religions, political parties, cults etc, people can be made to do all kind of mad things. This may go some way to explaining why apparent faux pas like "organ donation can cure breast and bowel cancer" can go unchallenged. Maybe.
I found it a very disturbing film.
Thank you for your explanations. It does make a bit of sense but still I feel the film lack of something. It has been a missed opportunity to make a great film, I am glad it is not nominated for any prizes: it doesn't deserve any. I found watching it very irritating mainly becouse I couldn't make any sense of it. Well, this is my personal opinion, someone else may disagree...
ReplyDeleteAntonio.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis film will be out in Italy on 25th of March.
ReplyDeleteI translate a summary of the Italian review just to have a "Continental" feeling.
"Never Let me Go is a completely wrong film: wrong is the director and wrong is the cast working with him. The whole film is a frigid nonsense. Paradoxically it is in its best at the beginning during the adolescent years of the protagonists: when they grow up their life and acting becomes a nonsense... The audience is left dissatisfied and disappointed".
I'm not very good in translation but at least it gives an idea.
Thanks, Antonio. Can you remember the source of the Italian review? I agree very much with the word "frigid" but I hesitate at "nonsense". I think if you had not had such a negative reaction I would have watched, left and thought little about it. However precisely because there was such a range of responses that it has stayed in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI welcome there being a range of responses to artistic creations. As in "people read books and books read people".
I thought you might like to know that I have been to do a review of an art exhibition at the Freud Museum in Hampstead next month. It would be fun if friends were able to go and see it so we could compare notes. I will put a note on the blog about the details.