When I sat down for the screening of “Never Let Me Go”, I knew it would be different from all other films out there thus far. It is not at all a documentary and it’s not an action film. Nor is it a comedy. It is a film involving organ donors. And be prepared for a few graphic scenes through out involving surgical removal of those much needed body parts in this new Fox Searchlight film.

The premise is told to us in three parts, all from England starting with Hailsham. Three children, Ruth (Keira Knightley (“Bend It Like Beckham”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”), Tommy (Andrew Garfield, “The Social Network” and the new Spiderman), and Kathy (Carey Mulligan from “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”) are raised like no ordinary people in a private boarding school.

As time moves on they must prepare themselves for a shortened life day by day as instructed with wrist bands to clock in and out with when leaving to walk the grounds. We first see the children as young kids excellently played by Isobel Meikle-Small, Ella Purnell and Charlie Rowe bowing down to manipulative teachers who fill their heads full of poisonous fairy tells. The story is told to us by Ruth reflecting back on those dark past secret filled days.

In her haunting narration, there is also a love story to be told. Gradually we learn the school is preparing the kids as scientific lab rats to donate their organs to the much needier without outside world knowledge. Of course since the kids are brainwashed and are prisoners in their own device, they know of no other life. Mark Romanek (2002 “One Hour Photo”) directed this film and kept in line with Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel “The Remains of the Day” about private medical experiments taking place to serve critical ill patients.

Fast forward some years later, we are introduced to the second step (the cottages) of their journey and with the kids now grown to young adults, love sparkles between Ruth and Tommy but actually it’s Kathy and Tommy who are growing fond for each other.

Eventually, the kids catch on as to their purpose of existence. However, Kathy starts to ponder about the real world and what it is like as the kids are now prepared to face what awaits them when called upon in a Frankenstein horror way. The kids find about the school’s cruel intentions by a teacher, Miss Lucy (Sally Hawkins) who spills the beans by breaking the school’s code of silence and eventually is let go for her honesty. It sucks to be honest sometimes, doesn’t it?

On completion day, each student has completed numerous donations and has ‘graduated’ if they make it. The body can only endure so much and it needs it’s vital organs to survive just as the desperately ill do.

Although this film is getting Oscar buzz, it is also inheriting some conflicts in order to be considered Oscar worthy. England’s scenery is beautiful and the camera angles were well placed and well though out. I know it’s just a movie and all are actors but besides this film being horribly sluggish, does the cloning process really take place underground and can scientists really pull it off? The whole process is clouded in mystery and assumption.

This film is expertly written for the big screen by Alex Garland and the acting is top notch. I just don’t believe this is for everybody as the subject is deep, difficult to follow and again, moves very slow and coming in at 103 minutes, a little long which seems to make it go even slower. Connecting with a large audience might be an issue with this film as well. The skills and performances of these actors is exquisite and Andrew Garfield is off to one hell of a start especially with two of his movies soon to be playing at the same time when this one opens up Friday, October 8, 2010 to a wider audience than it already has in a few other states. However this is a film that is only worthy of seeing once and some of that just for a nap.

“Never Let Me Go” is rated R and is produced by Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich. The Executive producers that get credit for their part are: Alex Garland, Kazuo Ishiguro and Tessa Ross. Rachel Portman’s music score in this film was smooth and the screening crowd agreed.

by Hustlin’ Bob Higgins 3 1/2 stars