We Were Promised Robots

"Do you know what happens to children when they grow up? No you don't, because nobody knows. They might grow up to become actors, move to America. Well, they might work in supermarkets, or teach in schools. They might become sportsmen or bus conductors or racing car drivers. They might do almost anything. But with you, we do know."
- Miss Lucy

So someone recommended Never Let Me Go to me a few months back and I only got around to watching it very recently - blame the holiday season for that.

The film makes its premise clear from the very onset - that the main characters are not exactly viewed as people but as resources and that they have to come into terms with the fact that they're essentially living on borrowed time.

The film is set in an alternate Britain where medical science has found a breakthrough in terms of extending human lifespan and overall health - by creating clones who will serve as donors to their respective clients.

I guess what makes this movie different is that the characters are fully aware of their eventual fate and that they don't fight the notion (unlike The Island, for instance). Instead, they accept their nature and try to make the most of their time before their completion - that is, making their final donation.

Apart from the initially disturbing premise, one cannot help but root for the characters even if the film shows how their condition worsens as the story progresses. There were points where I was hoping that they'd run away in some sort of you-and-me-against-the-world struggle, but that never happens.

Instead, Never Let Me Go reminded me of Tuesdays With Morrie, given the parallels on how their characters deal with the acceptance of one's death as inevitable and a part of reality.