- Film Review
- Reviewed By Brian Pendreigh
-
3 out of 5
This adaptation of the Kazuo Ishiguro novel belongs to a long tradition of books and films set in a time where the lives of individuals or society in general are controlled by draconian laws, major scientific advances or powerful but generally unseen rulers. Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) opens his third feature film in a boarding school that harbours a dark secret - something that's revealed more quickly here than in the novel. Onto this framework is grafted a doomed three-way romance, involving Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley. Storylines in this subgenre - from 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 to Logan's Run and Zardoz - lead almost inevitably to some sort of act of rebellion, but the notion of revolt is oddly lacking here. Maybe that is the point. But while the film has powerful individual scenes and the performances of Mulligan and Garfield convey the anguish of their plight, the work as a whole remains curiously uninvolving.
Plot Summary
Three children grow up in an isolated boarding school, and their feelings for each other begin to grow stronger as they enter their teens. They dream of seeing more of the outside world, but are forced to face up to an inescapable fate when they learn the true nature of the school and its pupils. Romantic drama based on Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, starring Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Kathy
- Carey Mulligan
- Ruth
- Keira Knightley
- Tommy
- Andrew Garfield
- Miss Lucy
- Sally Hawkins
- Miss Emily
- Charlotte Rampling
- Rodney
- Domhnall Gleeson
- Chrissie
- Andrea Riseborough
- Young Tommy
- Charlie Rowe
- Young Ruth
- Ella Purnell
- Madame
- Nathalie Richard
- Young Kathy
- Isobel Meikle-Small
- Miss Geraldine
- Kate Bowes Renna
- Amanda
- Hannah Sharp
- Laura
- Christina Carrafiell
- Arthur
- Oliver Parsons
- David
- Luke Bryant
- Matron
- Fidelis Morgan
- Doctor
- Damien Thomas
- Keffers
- David Sterne
- Hannah
- Lydia Wilson
- George
- Chidi Chickwe
Crew
- Director
- Mark Romanek
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