Never Let Me Go Review

Messages: The essential idea behind the movie is that life, any life, is valuable. The characters learn empathy and kindness toward each other and only experience trouble when true love gets in the way of their destinies. Eventually the characters learn that, even though they may only have a short time on earth, their experiences are just as important as those with much longer lives.

Role models: The main character, Kathy, is a sad creature; she seems lonely and lost and always somewhat aware of everything she's missed in life. She's not very active and really hasn't much choice in anything. Eventually she experiences a brief moment of real love and learns to appreciate it; she understands that even a brief moment, fully lived, is worth a lifetime.

Violence: There's some anger and raging, and a boy accidentally slaps a girl. Also a couple of somewhat gory hospital scenes. And there's a general sense of unease around the lives of these young people, who are trapped within the rules of a sinister organization.

Sex: At all of the three different ages they're shown -- preteens, teens, and twentysomethings -- these characters think and talk a great deal about sex. The preteensfall in love, hold hands, kiss, wonder about sex, and pine for eachother. As teens, they actually do have sex (there's moaning and onepartial naked breast), and they ponder the meaning of an adultrelationship. A teen girl also looks through a nudie magazine that has several photos of naked female breasts.

Language: "Oh my God."

Consumerism: Teens order Cokes in a diner.

Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some cigarettes are found on the school grounds, and there's speculation that some of the preteens may have smoked them.