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Atonement (2007)
Director: Joe Wright
Synopsis
Adapted from Ian McEwan's prizewinning novel, Atonement opens in 1935 on a British country estate, where Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and her sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan, and later Romola Garai) live along with Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), a servant’s son. After witnessing something she doesn't understand, Briony makes some unfounded accusations; the fallout from those charges extends through WWII and beyond.
Movie review
From Time Out New York
The hat trick of Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel, Atonement, was spinning a typical English country-estate melodrama while simultaneously deconstructing trad Brit lit and equating the writing process with divine providence. Successfully translating these ideas to the screen, however, seemed as likely as Heathcliff coming to a happy ending. Which makes Joe Wright’s big-screen version all the more impressive: He’s produced a gripping, romantic yarn without sacrificing the source’s meta-examination of fiction’s power. Not even the director’s swooning take on Pride & Prejudice (2005) could have prepared folks for this.
Clacking endlessly at her typewriter, 13-year-old Briony (Ronan) fancies herself a budding Brontë. After she spies her sister (Knightley) and a servant’s son (McAvoy) engaged in brief encounters, her hyperactive imagination paves the way for tragedy. Years pass, WWII breaks out and the lovers vow to reunite; the now-older Briony (Garai) pays penance as a nurse. There’s a secret that’s better discovered than disclosed, and the key misstep in Wright’s doggedly anti–Merchant Ivory adaptation is that, unlike the book, it doesn’t play up the third act enough to make the climactic revelation more jaw-dropping.
Yet Atonement’s extraordinary qualities outweigh any quibbles. Both Knightley and McAvoy finally justify the ink spilled declaring them movie stars, and even virtuosic flourishes like Wright’s Dunkirk-by-Bosch steadicam shot avoid devolving into flashy self-indulgence. The film balances its intimate moments and epic gestures so beautifully that you’d think this stellar adaptation was single-handedly repenting for the rest of the season’s overblown, empty Oscar bait.
Author: David Fear
Time Out New York Issue 636: December 6-12, 2007
User reviews of this film
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- Nic said...
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Posted on Sep 11 2007 18:30
I disagree - it's far from a semi or any kind of failure and one of the best films of this kind I have seen in years. The acting by all was superb and convincing, particularly Knightly whom I'd previously thought inexperienced and immature. I was, however, a little disappointed by Vanessa Redgrave's take on Briony's 'atonement', it just didn't sit right with the younger portrayals. (And I thought the colours were exactly true and never "blah" (!?).) And no, the direction was right and well timed - just as I was beginning to over-notice the clonking threatening typewriter and wondering how much longer we would be asked to focus on Briony's set face, it switched quickly and tensely to the unfolding events. I can't think of a better way the story and the effects on the lives of those main characters could have been portrayed. The Dunkirk scene was a mere 5 minutes and worked for me, especially the tracking camera style.
One of the few second world war era stories which was thought provoking as well as touching and this film did it more than justice. Go see. - Report as inappropriate
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- mike said...
- Posted on Sep 11 2007 12:21 Great film, wonderful cinematography and gripping narrative.
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- Allex said...
- Posted on Sep 09 2007 11:33 Dull and uninvolving. Seamus' cinematography isn't nearly as pretty as expected - the scenes in the country house are pedestrian and the colours blah. Don't believe the hype; Wright delivers nothing new. Feels made for TV.
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- Jenny said...
- Posted on Aug 28 2007 21:23 I read the book and fell in love with it! The movie is nicely done, great cast! I recommend it.
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- Courtney said...
- Posted on Aug 28 2007 21:21 great film ~ oscar material. Knightley is fabulous.
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Cast & crew
Director: Joe Wright
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster
Cast: Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Brenda Blethyn, Romola Garai, Vanessa Redgrave, Saoirse Ronan, Patrick Kennedy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juno Temple, Harriet Walter, Michelle Duncan, Gina McKee, Daniel Mays, Nonso Anozie full cast
Rated: R
Duration: 130 mins
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