Review for Atonement
Robbie (James McAvoy) is an Oxford graduate, the son of a maid, and a groundskeeper to the family who employs her. Cecilia (Keira Knightley) is a part of that family, the eldest of two daughters. Her younger sister, Briony, is thirteen, and a budding writer. As the film commences, she's putting on a play she's just completed.
Atonement is concerned, in part, with things we have seen but NOT seen-things, as Briony later tells us, we may be "too young to understand." This is first evidenced in an early scene, when Briony observes Cecilia and Robbie (ostensibly) arguing outside. Briony watches the proceedings furtively, and when Cecilia does something rash-and when a sexual undertone emerges-Briony backs away from the window, blushing. There is something important in that blush-something set apart from arousal…something more like fear-and it effectively foreshadows the remainder of the film.
Atonement is directed by Joe Wright, who directed 2005’s Pride and Prejudice, and it’s easy to see the similarities between the two films. Both are period pieces; both are set in England; and both are (at their cores) love stories, concerned with good people who deny the feelings they have for one another. What is enjoyable in the beginning is watching the bonds that restrain them dissolve. It’s a kind of affirmation, and almost a cosmic promise that good people will find happiness…almost as if to say that God rewards them for their trials. Almost.
One scene stands out from the rest. After an awkward exchange at the door (following a very awkward event), the characters adjourn to another room (one that will become central to the rest of the film). Here, they exchange inspired dialogue-dialogue delivered with trepidation and vulnerability; dialogue whose honesty makes you believe in love as something indomitable…and the movie is reborn as something different. No longer are the characters merely charming or restrained; they're bigger somehow. Latent sexuality is exploded into being, and the torrent of emotions that stems from it is astonishing. I wish I could commend the writers (Christopher Hampton, in a screenplay adapted from Ian McEwan) for it, because I think, of all the love scenes I've ever seen-or from stories I've read-it's the greatest portrayal of true love I've experienced. For anyone who is not too cynical to seek out romance, it will evoke the same kinds of feelings.
What follows is a film that will make you marvel at its treatment of everything-war, depicted as fickle and pointless and horrifying; love, depicted as passionate and sexual and difficult; and loss, so poignant it will pain you to see it.
Because this film is tragic. As a result of things “seen but not seen,” Robbie is accused by Briony of a crime he didn’t commit, and enlists in the war (World War II) to avoid jail time. Cecilia spends her time as a nurse. The Tallis (Cecilia’s) family is not what it was. The war is raging, and people die. Robbie and Cecilia exchange letters, the contents of which are earnest and sad, and we are given to feel the tentative and battered hope of two grieving lovers.
As with There Will Be Blood, the title of the film features prominently in the later parts of the story. Briony begins to understand the implications of her action, and with that gravity comes the need for retribution-for atonement-to set things right. It’s a testament to the magnitude of her sin that we wonder if she can.
If the measure of good movies is how deeply they affect you, Atonement is great. It is glorying in the right parts, and tragic in the others; and all throughout, it is real.
Atonement is concerned, in part, with things we have seen but NOT seen-things, as Briony later tells us, we may be "too young to understand." This is first evidenced in an early scene, when Briony observes Cecilia and Robbie (ostensibly) arguing outside. Briony watches the proceedings furtively, and when Cecilia does something rash-and when a sexual undertone emerges-Briony backs away from the window, blushing. There is something important in that blush-something set apart from arousal…something more like fear-and it effectively foreshadows the remainder of the film.
Atonement is directed by Joe Wright, who directed 2005’s Pride and Prejudice, and it’s easy to see the similarities between the two films. Both are period pieces; both are set in England; and both are (at their cores) love stories, concerned with good people who deny the feelings they have for one another. What is enjoyable in the beginning is watching the bonds that restrain them dissolve. It’s a kind of affirmation, and almost a cosmic promise that good people will find happiness…almost as if to say that God rewards them for their trials. Almost.
One scene stands out from the rest. After an awkward exchange at the door (following a very awkward event), the characters adjourn to another room (one that will become central to the rest of the film). Here, they exchange inspired dialogue-dialogue delivered with trepidation and vulnerability; dialogue whose honesty makes you believe in love as something indomitable…and the movie is reborn as something different. No longer are the characters merely charming or restrained; they're bigger somehow. Latent sexuality is exploded into being, and the torrent of emotions that stems from it is astonishing. I wish I could commend the writers (Christopher Hampton, in a screenplay adapted from Ian McEwan) for it, because I think, of all the love scenes I've ever seen-or from stories I've read-it's the greatest portrayal of true love I've experienced. For anyone who is not too cynical to seek out romance, it will evoke the same kinds of feelings.
What follows is a film that will make you marvel at its treatment of everything-war, depicted as fickle and pointless and horrifying; love, depicted as passionate and sexual and difficult; and loss, so poignant it will pain you to see it.
Because this film is tragic. As a result of things “seen but not seen,” Robbie is accused by Briony of a crime he didn’t commit, and enlists in the war (World War II) to avoid jail time. Cecilia spends her time as a nurse. The Tallis (Cecilia’s) family is not what it was. The war is raging, and people die. Robbie and Cecilia exchange letters, the contents of which are earnest and sad, and we are given to feel the tentative and battered hope of two grieving lovers.
As with There Will Be Blood, the title of the film features prominently in the later parts of the story. Briony begins to understand the implications of her action, and with that gravity comes the need for retribution-for atonement-to set things right. It’s a testament to the magnitude of her sin that we wonder if she can.
If the measure of good movies is how deeply they affect you, Atonement is great. It is glorying in the right parts, and tragic in the others; and all throughout, it is real.