In related release date news, that’s could be less than favorable this time, Mark Romanek’s melancholy and sci-fi-ish tinged drama, “Never Let Me Go” has been bumped up from its October 1 release date to a September 15 bow. Fox Searchlight probably didn’t want to go toe-to-toe with David Fincher’s “The Social Network.”
Or, it could mean one of two things. The positive: It’s being included as part of the 201o Toronto International Film Festival and will premiere earlier that week (TIFF runs September 9-19), much like Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant” which had a similar release date last year and debut at TIFF just a few days early.
The negative: It’s not at TIFF and it’s going to be completely overlooked. Traditionally, September releases at this time don’t do super well regardless. “Jennifer’s Body” hit at this time last year and premiered at TIFF, but was considered a bomb. That said, “Never Let Me Go,” is a specialty picture and will start in limited release and grow slowly, so it’s likely more of an awards contender than it is a box-office draw, but based on the trailer it looks thoughtful, well-realized and Romanek’s most mature work to date (“One Hour Photo” is not a fave in these parts).
So let’s be positive and hope the film does land at TIFF, because a specialty picture of this nature, low-key and dramatic — despite the tenuous sci-fi tie-ins that fanboys love and will surely be disappointed in with this one when they realize it’s not much of a sci-fi film — it could use the love and critical praise.
“Never Let Me Go” ranked high on our Most Anticipated of 2010 list. It boasts a phenomenal cast including Carey Mulligan (“An Education,” “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”), Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield (“Red Riding” trilogy, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”), Sally Hawkins (“Happy Go-Lucky”), Charlotte Rampling, Nathalie Richard, and Andrea Riseborough (just note, Mulligan is actually the lead character not Knightley).
The script was penned by Alex Garland (of Danny Boyle fame including, “The Beach,” “28 Days Later” and “Sunshine”) and sports a fairly lugubrious bent (Spike Jonze said he cried when he saw it).
