Living for death seems like a rather drab subject matter for a film. But it is brought to life by the direction and acting which reveals deeper meaning in death. Kathy, Tommy and Ruth all grow up together at Hailsham in order to give their lives for their doubles to live. Thus they are faced with the alarming reality of their mortality at a very early age. How does one deal with the very real nature of death at all, let alone at such a tender age? This is the question that is explored through character and story in this film. We watch as Tommy faces it head on, believing that there is the chance for him to love, to be free. And even if that amount of time adds up to mere years he will take it and make it into an eternity.
On the other hand, Ruth finds herself very weak in the midst of her mortality. She seeks to serve her pleasures at the expense of her friendship with Kathy and destroys the opportunity for her friends to have love for the short time they are living. Kathy on the other hand explores what it means to be real. She questions whether she feels from her own self or only experiences that which her double feels. She is searching for her identity and connection to others. We see this between her and Ruth and Tommy as children. Of the three Kathy is the one that is looking deeper than skin and deeper than heart. She is seeking soul, the source of our life, the deeper meaning behind who she is. She begins to find this with Tommy before it is ripped away from her by Ruth, and she continues to seek it by becoming a carer. Her desire is to answer the profound question of “who am I” without true support from parents or even friends to help encourage an answer.
In the end, Kathy leads the longest life of the three and though that may seem like a prize it also provides the need to be connected to her love for Tommy once more. And the sadness that it creates at the thought of never being able to have loved him truly in life will haunt her as the only person that really knew her is gone forever and her journey to completion is only just beginning.
