Mark Romanek makes patient, carefully controlled films about people who struggle to connect. We value the tenderness in Never Let Me Go, though its persistent solemnity also exposes the limits of his restraint.
Fi1m perspective
In Never Let Me Go (2010), three people have learnt to accept what they are told, and Romanek watches them struggle to be close. The friendships and romance matter more than the science fiction, which suits his interest in isolated people trying to connect. We were moved by the awkward affection between the leads, because it makes their need for one another feel ordinary and recognisable. Carey Mulligan gives us the strongest reason to stay with them. It is a good film, though Romanek’s persistent solemnity makes the patience it requires harder to give.
His reputation was built largely in shorter forms. After his first feature, Static (1985), Romanek moved into music videos in the late 1980s and became a major name in that field through the 1990s and early 2000s. His work includes Scream (1995), for Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, and Johnny Cash’s Hurt (2002). He returned to features as writer and director of One Hour Photo (2002), starring Robin Williams. The heightened, slightly off-kilter worlds associated with his work make sense for a director so practised at getting an image noticed.
For all that visual precision, it is the writing and performances that decide whether Never Let Me Go works. Alex Garland’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel puts friendship and the love story first, and Romanek succeeds when the actors have room to make those relationships uncomfortable. He is less persuasive about the characters’ obedience, which needs more explaining than he allows. We are asked to sit patiently with people whose acceptance remains difficult to understand. That matters, because understanding their acceptance is part of caring what happens to them.
His subsequent directing work includes television episodes for Tales from the Loop (2020), alongside commercials and occasional music videos. There have also been projects developed but never made, but counting the missing films tells us little about the ones he has made. Start with Never Let Me Go for Mulligan, and be prepared to wait through some solemn stretches for the affection that makes it worthwhile.
Biography
Mark Romanek is an American film, music video and commercial director and photographer. He directed the feature films Static (1985), One Hour Photo (2002) and Never Let Me Go (2010).
Romanek is known for his music videos, which have earned three Grammy Awards for Best Short Form Music Video and 20 MTV Video Music Awards. He has also directed episodes of television series including The Whispers (2015), Vinyl (2016) and Tales from the Loop (2020).
