X-Men First Class vs Never Let Me Go

The X-Men movies have struggled with the dumbest of comic book movie problems: how to depict superheroes without goofy, colorful costumes. The solution was to take them away completely, presenting the heroes in a mix of street clothes and black leather. Those movies worked, mainly, but taking away part of the visual of a visual medium seems counterproductive. Spider-man, Superman, Batman, and the Fantastic Four all wear the costumes and masks from their comic sources, without anyone in the audience saying “I would never wear that.” But the X-Men refused to play along, until now. Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men First Class is set in the early 1960s, so even without tights and capes, our heroes are in costume. The time period details serve as just enough juice to heighten the aesthetic, making X-Men First Class an unlikely, uncannily stylish movie. It’s a move in the right direction. By putting the X-Men in a specific time, it makes them specific as well. The previous X-Men series stated simply that they take place in the future, but didn’t look like anything other than, say, 1997. This is the most “comic book” the X-Men have ever been presented on film, and yet I regarded them as the most real they’ve come across so far. Go figure.

Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is a swinging single genius, using his mental powers and mutant research to pick up hot college girls. His best friend is Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), who’s less enthusiastic about being part of a community of mutants, primarily because her mutation takes her out of the norm of popular attractiveness. Of course her power, morphing into any other human form she chooses, takes her right back into it, so maybe relax, okay? Xavier and Raven (later called Mystique) had no relationship or tension in the previous trilogy, so take that as a hint that X-Men First Class serves as a prequel to those movies only loosely. Likewise, go ahead and forget about the prologue to X-Men Last Stand, as well as couple characters in Wolverine.

Through 1960s espionage movie hijinks, Xavier and Raven meet Moira MacTaggart (Rose Byrne), a CIA agent who propels the plot forward by crossing Xavier’s path with that of the film’s villain, Sebastian Shaw, played with menace and charm by Kevin Bacon. Everybody likes Kevin Bacon, obviously, but with X-Men First Class, I’m going to say something I don’t think I’ve ever said before: Kevin Bacon was the best part. Sebastian Shaw is the leader of an underground society of mutants, the Hellfire Club, dedicated to appreciating the finer things in life, like wine, women and military power. It’s basically a mix of the Playboy Club and Skull & Bones. He has a mysterious past and power that I won’t spoil here. Shaw has a team of powerful sidekicks, most notably a chilly January Jones as the telepathic (and then some) Emma Frost. Jones being described as “chilly” is nothing new, but as on Mad Men, it mostly works in her portrayal of Frost, who spends the movie in a variety of white lingerie.

To this point, we’ve also followed the story of Erik (Michael Fassbender, whose power on and off screen is magnetism), the future Magneto. Erik, as most in the audience know, becomes Professor Xavier’s rival and arch nemesis, but here they have a bond, and an alliance, made difficult by their opposing strategies for integrating mutants into regular human society. Xavier wants to coexist peacefully, and if necessary, privately. Erik wants to overpower the humans who oppose him, and take power with force. Before it’s over, as you might have guessed, the two men will have rallied the troops to one side or the other.

Gathering those troops is the centerpiece of the movie. Xavier and Erik traverse the country, recruiting young mutants for their team (Among these, Nicolas Hoult makes the biggest impression, as Beast). This sequence is fun, has one of the best movie cameos in years, and is filmed in a style reminiscent of the era the movie is set in. It bounces along, with mod swipes, wipes and cuts. Likewise, a training montage is split-screened, sometimes three or four times. It’s cleverly retro, and I’d like to have seen more of the movie edited in the same way.

Never Let Me Go is another retro movie, although the retro setting brings not just style, but an overcast of dread. Instead of being a blast from the past like X-Men First Class, Never Let Me Go uses its past aesthetic as clues to a ghost story. Never Let Me Go’s characters are also special, different, endangered teenagers, but they get no powers or flashy costumes. Director Mark Romanek (my favorite music video director ever) gives the film a mood rather than a look, which is smart. X-Men First Class has top-notch special effects, a kicky musical score, and blue-skinned characters. Never Let Me Go has no similar elements to keep an audience interested, but I was riveted all the same, thanks to Romanek’s consistent tone.

Our heroes, Kathy (Carey Mulligan) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield), are students at Hailsham, a boarding school designed to keep children mannered and well-read, but also fearful of the outside world. There’s a bit of a Truman Show vibe, with the children never venturing beyond the school’s borders. I’m aware that’s also a vibe featured in The Village, but the kids of Hailsham are hopeless enough, without bringing Shyamalan into this. Kathy and Tommy are sweet, quiet kids; Tommy is especially sensitive and thoughtful, and is often the target of Ruth (Keira Knightley), who is quite worldly and bold for someone who’s never seen a paved street. Ruth isn’t the movie’s villain; rather, she’s braver and more reckless emotionally. The lazy comparison would be Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted, but Ruth’s rebellion isn’t for show, and it’s not based on hindered freedom. Ruth pushes boundaries and buttons, and I’m sure some viewers root for her downfall. Keira Knightley keeps her interesting, but as much through an angry fragility as any of the expected stereotypes of the tough-girl character. Mulligan and Garfield are also strong, in sadder, more sympathetic roles. Sally Hawkins shows up a couple times as a teacher, and sets the movie on its ear by revealing, to us and the students, the brutal secret of Never Let Me Go. What are the children being protected from? There’s a potential for happiness in their world, but nothing could harm the kids more than understanding the potential for happiness.

Never Let Me Go could just as easily have been set in the future (and who’s to say it’s not), but that would belie the slyness of the script and acting choices. Placing Kathy and Tommy in the past justifies a great deal of their naïveté, and gives even greater impact to the tiny moments of joy they find together. It also makes Ruth’s defiance all the more alluring; she’s like Emma Frost, using a false sheen of ladylike expectations to mask her violent power.  Everybody knows she’s a freak, that she only exists for a purpose that serves a higher class of human, and she’s oddly resigned to that fate. Basically, Ruth is mutant and proud, although she never says so. She never has to.

X-Men First Class: B

Never Let Me Go: A-