Movie Notes: Atonement

January 12th, 2008

= 5 stars

Starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan
Directed by Joe Wright

Synopsis

Thirteen year old Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) affects several lives when she accuses her older sister Cecilia’s (Keira Knightley) lover Robbie (James McAvoy) of a crime he did not commit.

The Good

• Has the earmarks of an epic romance, spanning three time periods: 1930s British empire, World War II, and briefly, the present day.
• Truthfully, not much happens, but via a mesmerizing film style, new life is granted to the yawn-inducing phrase “period piece”. The first period shows an event as witnessed by Briony, followed by a flashback to show what actually happened leading up to said event. The second period is split amongst Cecilia, Robbie, and Briony. The third is quite jarring in its introduction.
• One period reveals that a previous scene never transpired.
• My interest was held throughout, mostly because of the plot which had me wondering how the mess of the first period would ever resolve.

The Bad

• Hopeless romanticism required, otherwise the flimsy foundation of Cecilia and Robbie’s romance doesn’t work, and neither does the Wuthering Heights style ending.
• The World War II period was not as epic as I hoped: no battles, just three soldiers marching on, on, and on. There is one really cool uncut, wandering camera scene however.
• Absolutely no hope of entertaining those to whom the words “Merchant-Ivory-esque, unrequited love, class warfare through the eyes of aspiring writer Briony” sounds like a trip to the dentist.

Conclusion

Atonement contemplates truth vs. fiction. Briony struggles with a confession of the truth — but it is incomplete. She never learns what really transpired between Cecilia and Robbie at the fountain (the broken vase is shown only to us, the viewers), nor does she know that the perverted note from Robbie was a mistake. In addition, what she witnessed was filtered through the eyes of a young girl. Due to her privileged life, dramatic interests, and young age, Briony had a melodramatic concept of right and wrong and interpreted events in a way that an adult would not.

Therefore, the “truthful” book that Briony produces at film’s end is ironically incapable of being so. But the entire movie is a work of fiction, too. So although Atonement claims to deny us a happy ending in the name of truth — it ultimately cannot be, either. We’re caught up in lies, illusion, and expectation of redemption.

In addition to this philosophical meandering, Atonement has the backdrop of a failing empire — England, crushed by the second world war (reminding me of a James Bond book). The fall is illustrated by the contrast of the first and second sections. The first shows the Tallises doing absolutely nothing in a luxurious mansion, lying about in hot weather, over-dressing for dinner, and wasting time on frivolous activities like plays, swimming, and chocolate cocktails. The second wartime section in deliciously opposite, with stinky soldiers, cramped apartments, and mangled, bloody bodies in hospitals.

So I really enjoyed Atonement. After contemplating the fates of Cecilia and Robbie, I was left feeling woefully sorry for a little girl who spends an entire life contemplating a half-baked truth. A character who makes a terrible mistake earned my sympathy, and for that reason I highly recommend this movie.

IMDB: Atonement
Wikipedia: Atonemnet
Rotten Tomatoes: Atonement 84%