A trio of schoolchildren are bound by a shocking secret in Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go.   Although it has been couched as a sci-fi thriller, the movie is actually a beautiful and bittersweet love story between two of the central characters.  It’s as poignant and tragic as any great love story out there.

Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield), and Ruth (Keira Knightly) all attended a sprawling English boarding school when they were children.  Apparently they were orphans, and they were treated well by their caretakers and teachers.

However, there is a sinister aspect to the school.  A “no tolerance” rule  is strictly enforced for those for those who wander off the school’s property.  They never have any visitors.  Broken, discarded toys are brought in for the children to “buy” with currency they have earned.  The whole institution seems completely devoid of joy or any emotion, for that matter. It seems like a horribly lonely existence, particularly for a child.

Kathy finds herself drawn to Tommy, a gentle, quirky boy.  The two develop a deep rooted friendship, and it is clear that they are destined to be with one another. Kathy’s beautiful friend Ruth feels threatened by their special relationship, and callously drives a wedge between the two.  Tommy is easily captivated, and Kathy is easily defeated. The star-crossed children never realize the potential of their feelings for one another.

It seems to be quite the week for trailers, as David O. Russell’s The Fighter gets a trailer, and now we’ve got a brand new trailer for this Thanksgiving’s big fantasy film, The Nutcracker in 3D.

Of course, the film will have to fight tooth and nail in the box office, as it opens wide on the second weekend of Warner’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, but the trailer makes the film look like it could just win the hearts of families everywhere this November.

The premise is a bit complex, so we’ll let the official synopsis do it justice:

On Christmas night, Mary’s new friend, The Nutcracker (Charlie Rowe) or “NC,” comes to life and takes her on a wondrous journey into his magical world of fairies, sugarplums, and other Christmas toys which come to life. Mary soon realizes that this fantastical kingdom is facing danger from the tyrannical rule of the evil Rat King (John Turturro) and his devious mother (Frances de la Tour).

When NC is taken hostage, Mary and her newfound toy friends must uncover the secret of the Rat King to rescue NC and his kingdom. Based on the story that inspired acclaimed Russian composer Piotr Tchaikovsky to create the music for the iconic ballet, the film includes eight exciting new songs penned by Oscar-winning lyricist and librettist Sir Tim Rice (The Lion King, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar).

John Turturro as the Rat King? Sold. Don’t let the film’s lack of a major distributor fool you, this film could end up being a major release. At least, that’s what we think after seeing the trailer. Check it out for yourself after the jump, and catch The Nutcracker in 3D in theaters on November 24th.