Sunday night I watched Never Let Me Go, a movie that looked intriguing when it was in theaters in 2010 but I never had a chance to see until now. It affected me deeply, possibly more than any other movie I've seen this year. Maybe it's because of the introspective space I've been in lately.
First of all, it's a visually gorgeous film. It's one of those films that communicates so much in the quiet spaces, giving each significant moment its full attention. It reminded me of my original impressions of Lars and the Real Girl and of Shopgirl several years ago.
I love how the young actors so closely resemble their adult counterparts, not just physically, but in their mannerisms - especially Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby) and Isobel Meilkle-Small (Snow White and the Huntsman) who play the role of Kathy. Mulligan's performance is just outstanding and she's in practically every scene of the movie.
So the movie is about the preciousness of life and the truth of our mortality. It's also about real love and deep regret. It's basically the same message as Tammy's play we honored on Tuesday, "The Three of Us." Both reinforce one of my core beliefs, that love is love no matter how long we have together. No one has any control over how long we have on this earth. We have to be open to love because we may only have a few chances to find it, and any amount of time we have will be too short when we do.
I saw a lot of myself in the character of Kathy - highly sensitive, introverted, being very careful not to spoil the happiness of others. And maybe that means I miss opportunities to find love, although nothing specific comes to mind. But what I do know is that if we only wait for others to approach us, we may never find the person or persons we really want to be with. That's not to say I'm going to sign up for an OKCupid account - I still believe that love finds us, not the other way around. All I require of myself is to live an open and honest life. Whatever love manages to find me, I will welcome it with open arms.
