Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2011

What if mankind “solved” the problem of disease and aging by raising clones of each person in orphanage-like farms for the purpose of future organ transplants? This is the premise of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, which dips in and out of the short lives of three such “donors” approaching with resignation and melancholy their “harvest” time (beautifully played as adults by Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Kiera Knightly). It’s visually impressive and thematically ambitious, but it’s also distant, rigid and too slow and contemplative for many. I got it, but I confess I found my attention wandering more than once.