Body Parts for Sale: Another Case of the Haves Versus the Have-Nots?

Reviews the film, Never let me go directed by Mark Romanek (2010). This film is based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s critically acclaimed novel of the same name, is nothing if not the stage for a highly emotionally charged and timely debate of the ethics of organ transplants and cloning. The issue of equity in regard to both organ transplantation and cloning is a core theme engendered by this film. Although the extremes depicted in this film (the repeated removal of organs from one donor to the point of human sacrifice and the creation of donors to extend or improve the lives of a privileged elite) are decidedly futuristic, the issue of fairness is timely. The film’s cinematography is admirable, and the acting is superb. The pace is slow—a feature that some viewers may find objectionable. Although the plot is disturbingly feasible, it is at the same time questionable. Viewers will no doubt be left with feelings of outrage about possible abuses in the business of transplants and cloning and, hopefully, with an insistence on the consideration of ethics in any debate regarding these topics. In sum, the film is eerily intriguing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)