Synopsis:
Directed by Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo), it’s difficult to say too much about the plot of NLMG without giving away a huge chunk of the story. What I can say is that it’s set in alternative, but closely related, reality, in the near past. There have been medical breakthroughs and life expectancy exceeds 100 years. We are taken into the lives of three young children at Hailsham school, which for all intents and purposes seems like an idealic English country boarding school, BUT there’s something that no-one talks about, something impending. The delivery drivers and staff find it hard to look the children in the eye.
There are a number of good things about NLMG. Carey Mulligan is very good again as the lead actress and it’s a travesty there’s no Oscar for casting because whoever found Izzy Meikle-Small to play the young Kathy deserves one! The cinematography is beautiful and really should have been given a nod by the Academy; Adam Kimmel was only nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. It is very atmospheric and very poignant, the audience feels a lot of empathy with the characters and it is a touching, moving story that brings people to tears. There are lots of single tears running down cheeks in both the film and the theatre.
There’s a whole host of particularly emotional scenes but the one that struck a chord most with me was when the children were told a ’delivery’, a ‘bumper crop’ was being delivered to the school and they could use their tokens to buy them. Every child in the school was excited beyond belief; this was a momentous occasion, a real treat to look forward to. What in fact was delivered was a bunch of old broken toys. That is very much the feel of the film; these children are somehow second-class citizens and they accept it. But therein is, I believe, the greatest shortcoming, maybe not of the film in particular, but of the story itself. There feels like there is always something missing from the film, and I’ve decided it’s a rebellion, an uprising or simply running away. But there’s nothing like that, just an acceptance. Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not looking for an Island type escape plot, far from it, just something more. But in the end that might actually be the film’s main accomplishment; we are drawn into the lives of the characters and feel for them, we want them to break out and make more for themselves.
