Atonement

Atonement is only the second feature film by director Joe Wright, and moves on where his first one, Pride & Prejudice left off. Atonement is a visual feast, just like its predecessor but even more stunning and with more bravoure. It tells the larger than life love story of a young man and woman filled with passion and who are send to doom by the young woman's younger sister. The story itself, adapted from the novel of the same title by highly acclaimed writer Ian McEwan, of which his works The Comfort Of Strangers and Enduring Love also got translated to the big screen, is already great and provides for great material, but the way Wright tells it, is absolutely amazing. It's full of enchanting moments and poetic images, that are edged deeply onto your mind. Both visually as musically Atonement is a pure rush of delight. It has some of the most interesting scenes all combined in just one movie. A scene between lovers Cecilia and Robbie against a bookcase where they make passionate love is filmed in a way that makes it both dreamy and delicate. Smoke coming from cigarettes float through the air as little clouds of mystique, giving the images a feel of the black and white movie era. At times Keira Knightley seems to be coming straight out of a silent movie. She has this classic beauty reminiscent of actresses from that period of time. There isn't much dialogue and when there is, it's of little importance. Atonement mostly depends on visual storytelling. The editing is remarkable, easily moving between close-ups to long shots speeding up the pace. The film features a long take that takes your breath away with ease. It's like a dance the way the camera tracks around the scene and actors walk into the frame at the right moment. Making extensive use of the setting, it's one of the best scenes from the movie giving a great feel and depiction of what the war must have been like. It's both sad as well as triumphant, filled with glory and pride. Also the film features a beautful shot showing James McAvoy standing in an open field. The lighting is amazing as is the moving forward of the camera opening up this great space that soon comes to fill the frame. Atonement is drenched in pure beauty and elegance. Every image presented seems to be staged with much care. It's full with metaphors and symbols that could be analyzed for months. Like the book, which I have ready only partly, the film is full of references to writing. Sounds of a type writer are added to the film's soundtrack and have become part of the music that carries the film and letters and postcards are of great importance to the film's narrative. Atonement seems to be a great adaptation of the novel of the same title and has a lot to offer and adds to the novel's complexity and beauty. Briony, the most important character, is also the most interesting and is played wonderfully by all three actresses, but mostly Saoirse Ronan exceeds as Briony at the age of 13. She manages to carry the movie and sets the base for her character who is later on played by Ramola Garai. Completely stealing away the spotlight from fellow actress Keira Knightley, who plays Briony's older sister Cecilia, and who was nominated for an Academy Awards for her role in Wright's Pride & Prejudice, Ronan grabs your full attention and lures you into the story with the power of a magnet. It's a great performance for such a young actress. Knightley only convinces at times, but is never able to take over the wheel. The person who is, however, is the very talented James McAvoy, who after The Last King Of Scotland, gives another great performance as Robbie Turner. In his scenes with Knightley it is he who you care for the most and who draws you in into his character's emotions. Ramola Garai, who plays the 18 year old version of Briony, and who steadily, like McAvoy, begins to gain attention, playing more and more in movies of great importance and surrounded with lots of buzz, perfectly moves on from where Ronan left off. Her part however, is very small. But already in the scenes she can be watched, she is very strong. Her expressions greatly give way to the many faces of Briony Tallis, the most complex of all. It's a tough part to play, but both young actresses succeed. Atonement is at times a bit overdramatic, but it's brilliance prevails. It's far out one of the most interesting film of the year and one that feels the most complete and is filled with many meanings that are to be found under its thick surface.

What is it about?

Briony Tallis, a 13 year old girl with a passion for writing and ready to explore the world causes big trouble when she starts spying on her older sister Cecilia. Watching her together with Robbie Turner, the son of one of the women working for the girls' parents, Briony starts to notice their romantic relationship. Stung as by a bee, her mind goes blurry and she starts to see things of which, as a viewer, you never quite sure if real or not. When one night a niece of the sisters is abused during a search for her two younger brothers, Briony, who besides the niece herself, is the only witness at the scene, convinces everyone Robbie is the man who attacked the girl. For this reason Robbie is send off to prison, causing hurt inside Cecilia who's last whisper is a plee for him to come back to her. Time passes by and both Cecilia and Robbie as well as Briony grow up towards adolescence. The two lovers are now living separate lives. Cecilia is a nurse, while Robbie is in the army doing his time he normally would have been sitting out in jail. The two write each other and Cecilia sends him a postcard of a cottage the two of them could run off to when the time is right. Meanwhile Briony's feelings towards Robbie become clear and the motifs for her actions are brought into light. Working as a nurse in a way to find redemption and still writing stories secretly late at night, she knew exactly what she was doing, causing harm to innocent people. Now 18 years old it's time for her to come clean and leave behind the past. But in order to do so she needs to face the two people she broke apart or else live her life with guilt and shame for the rest of her years.

Final Verdict: *****

The line between fiction and fact in Atonement is one that is very thin and that is crossed multiple times. After seeing the film, you start to realize the film's complexity. It never becomes clear what is real and what is not. From the moment Briony watches Cecilia and Robbie at the fountain the story that is presented to us viewers can all be part of her imagination. It's no coincidence that the story she later on writes as a nurse is titled Two Figures By A Fountain. Throughout the story the sound of the type writer keeps waving its way through as a red line. It can be seen as a sign of the fiction that the movie presents. Lights flickering on and off on, the sound of a type writer, camera's easily moving to the large sets and beautifully lit images, make of Atonement a cinematic masterpiece. Set in different times, each part has a distinct look. As the film jumps from present to past, showing events in flashbacks to give understanding of the proceeding scenes, characters evolve and their relationship becomes more clear. The ending of the film makes you doubt everything you've seen before and makes you wonder who to trust. Knowing Briony's character, and at the same time not knowing her character, you come to realize everything might not have been what it seemed like. The film is full of clues and signs that could be interpreted in different ways. Looking in mirrors, coming out of the bathtub, the touch of hands, the smoke of cigarettes, use of flashbacks. They're all references to a bigger meaning. Atonement can make for a great case study. It's an astonishing piece of work that tells the devastating story of two lovers and which gets you thrilled for the novel, if you haven't read it already. It's a work of art and exceeds all expectations. Go see it before it's too late.