Based on Ian McKewan’s Booker Prize nominated novel, Atonement is a love story spanning three generations.
Events commence in England, 1935, an affluent country house on a boiling hot summer’s day. Thirteen year old aspiring writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) witnesses her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) frolicking in a fountain while sultry estate gardener Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) leers on.
This odd but seemingly innocent moment sets in motion a series of events that result in the innocent Robbie being arrested and young Briony, the catalyst of the whole disastrous situation, desperate to repent for her actions.
The story zips back and forth through time, unfolding a tragic romance, fragments of the Second World War and, eventually, the ultimate act of atonement from an inconsolable woman.
They say:
Empire: "An adaptation at least as good as the novel - complex, delicate and devastating."
BBC: "A truly soulful picture..."
Variety: "Consciously evokes the acting conventions and romantic clichés of ‘30s and ’40s melodramas."
We say:
Atonement is not just a movie for ladies, it’s a movie for a particular type of lady. The type who enjoys puffed up romance adaptations and dribbles at the sight of James McAvoy in a tux (about half an hour in).
Don’t be fooled by the film’s grandiose WW2 backdrop. While there may be a lengthily middle segment featuring Dunkirk, this is more about McAvoy traversing the windswept plains than anyone actually getting a shot off. As such what might have been the strongest draw for the male audience is ultimately the weakest. However there is much more fun to be had at the start.
Once the silly ‘tapping typewriter' score has eased into the background, watching Rohan’s masterly portrayal of a teenage girl with an imagination to match her hormones is fascinating. Wielding power like a proper little Machiavellian, everything that Briony does in this tragic set up shapes the course of the film.
Following this first act the pace slows to a crawl, only speeding up for the finale’s twist, which would have been a darn sight more successful without a) a time jump so jarring you might think the projectionist has spliced in the wrong film and b) Vanessa Redgrave devouring the screen in a needlessly starry cameo.
Atonement’s main snag hangs on its execution rather than the admittedly complex source material. Scenes flitter back and forth with little connection and while there has clearly been a concerted effort to retain the structure of the novel, this has come at the expense of making a coherent and satisfying film.
Even after his Pride and Prejudice adaptation in 2005, most people would still not be aware of director Joe Wright. This will all change with Atonement. His eyeball invading close ups and lengthy, sweeping crane of a burning battlefield are Hollywood bread and butter. He is going to be huge.
Performances are uniformly strong. McAvoy is a fine actor and worthy of your jealousy. Knightley is Knightley, strikingly beautiful and elegant to some, skinny and pompous to others. She plays her part solidly though, no complaints.
Atonement works best as a filmic achievement for its director and cast. Audiences too never tire of watching the upper classes treat the poor like domestic foot soldiers, and an epic period romance will yet be told a thousand times and a lot worse than this.
Not a bad picture by any means, just way too fussy. Ladies will love it.
CAST
Keira Knightley
James McAvoy
Romola Garai
Saoirse Ronan
DIRECTOR
Joe Wright
TIME
123 mins
POSTED...
Tue 11 Sep 2007 at 11:37am
