Never Let Me Go

Cloning. Curious that both my children have done projects about cloning this year, and that what this film was about. Sort of a "Logan's Run"/ "Coma" sci fi kind of thing about an England that has decided to erradicate terminal illness by breeding clones whose organs are harvested for transplant. The film follows 3 central characters from childhood at a rural institution through to their young adult lives and completion. They never contemplate their fate. They accept it, more or less. There are no fantastic attempts at escape, no monumental emotional breakdowns. Just a slow, steady, methodical exploration of what it's like to know that your life will be short, and that while you can live and love more or less as you like, ultimately your purpose is to serve the "originals". Most of them donate 3 or 4 times before they "complete". They live in a parallel society that rarely interacts with the society they were created to serve.

It's a very sad movie. By the end, Kathy is the only one still alive. She hasn't started her donations yet because she's been working as a carer, someone who travels to support the others through the process of donation and recovery. The man she loved her entire life has just completed. Circumstances were such that they spent most of their lives apart and only had a short time together and in love. Because he's gone, she's decided to stop being a carer and become a donor. Being so incredibly alone that the only solution is to complete, is just so desperately sad. I wonder if Kathy would have been better off not to have found him again, if they'd never had the chance to be together, if their love had remained unrequited. I think she'd have suffered less if they hadn't reconnected at the 11th hour.

Charlotte Rampling is the headmistress of the boarding school where they are raised. Near the end of the film, she suggests that society isn't ready to consider ending the cloning program because society doesn't want to have to deal with cancer, leukemia, or other major illnesses any more. The ethics of the program don't come into play.

Stem cells. Seems innocent enough to me. Seems like a good idea to me. Seems like a plan to aid the greater good. Is it just the first step toward breeding people for replacement parts?