Atonement

Joe Wright's Atonement caught me completely off guard. Even though I had high expectations for this, I wasn't necessarily expecting to be surprised by anything, because I felt like the trailer was very telling of what was gonna happen in this film. It SEEMED like we would get a SHORT first part in which the events that led to the arrest of Robbie (James McAvoy) would unfold quickly, and that the movie would then focus largely on the war scenes - I really thought this was just gonna be one of those standard, Oscar-bait war love stories. I don't mean to suggest that the movie isn't Oscar bait, because it certainly is and everyone knows it, but it's far different than what I thought. Instead of focusing on those conventions, Atonement stays devoted to its title by focusing strictly on Briony's desire to redeem herself for what she did. Although Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave are getting supporting billing for their work, Briony becomes the center of the tale told in this cinematic masterpiece.

As I said, I expected the first act of Atonement to be shorter. The trailer simply made me think that Robbie's arrest was something that they took care of quickly in order to move the plot along. Thank God that wasn't the case, because if it had been I might have felt a lot differently about Atonement. This first act is... for some reason, "delicious" is the only word that comes to mind. Deliciously engrossing, with perfect acting, amazing scenery, a relentlessly great score (who would've known that the often boring and perhaps even annoying sound of a typewriter could be so effective cinematically?). This is a first act that, handled even SLIGHTLY differently, could've gone TERRIBLY wrong because there's actually a lot of room here for things to feel contrived: 1) Briony's misinterpretation of what happens in front of the fountain, 2) Robbie leaving his room with the wrong letter, 3) Briony catching Robbie and Cecilia (Keira Knightley) in the study, 4) Briony discovering Lola (Juno Temple) being raped, enabling her to falsely accuse Robbie of that crime. It all seems too convenient and movie-contrived, doesn't it? It is all handled SO well, though, that it is more than believable, and you'll understand why when you see it.

The only argument I could see someone making against Atonement is that the second act isn't as amazingly great as the first one, but that's definitely NOT to say that it isn't masterful filmmaking, because it still is. I mentioned this before, but I'll note again the fact that the film doesn't focus that much on the war aspects, or at least not as much as the trailer leads you to believe. I find no reason for people to object to this, though - seriously, how many movies have depicted events of World War II? Did you really need this one to show you more of what you've already seen handled masterfully in other films? Atonement isn't about World War II; it's about Briony's efforts to atone (and the title should be enough to help people understand that). Even with THAT said, though, the images of the war that Atonement DOES give us are nothing short of amazing. There is a long tracking shot that a lot of people are already talking about, and that I can imagine will be talked about even more as more people see the movie. I'll say nothing about it, because it's plain and simply something you have to see to witness its greatness, but I'll just state that it is easily the best collaboration of acting, camerawork and directing we've seen in a single shot all year. In addition to that, despite its efforts to not focus largely on the war, Atonement is damn relentless in portraying the bloody, gruesome face of battle. There is an astoundingly heartbreaking scene in which Robbie is standing and the camera begins zooming out to reveal a massive amount of dead children. Also, when Briony is working as a nurse and wounded soldiers arrive, we are exposed to some severely gut-wrenching images that'll make many want to look away.

After the two acts comes the epilogue, which I will obviously say very little about. In a lot of cases, a final payoff or climax can help a movie that would've just been very good turn into a great film. Atonement wasn't in need of something amazing at the end to keep its status as a perfect piece of cinema, but it gives it to us, anyway. The epilogue reveals even more about Briony's demons and what she dealt with throughout her life as a result of her actions. If the Academy was willing to give William Hurt a Best Supporting Actor nomination for appearing in the final few minutes of A History of Violence, I don't see why Vanessa Redgrave shouldn't be recognized for what she does here. The avalanche of emotions that comes as a result of everything that is said in the epilogue of Atonement is almost too much to take, sure to make most people in the audience cry, as it did in the theater I sat in.

Thank God that Briony is handled so perfectly by the three actresses who play her. Yes, it's a love story, and yes, it's a war story, and both of those aspects of the film ARE handled perfectly, but as I said, they take secondary importance, as it truly is all about Briony, and that's exactly what makes Atonement different from AND superior to even many of the great love/war films we've seen to date. I feel like I should've mentioned this before, but I'd like to say now that, not only do James McAvoy and Keira Knightley give relentlessly perfect performances, but they also make for an extremely appealing pair of ill-fated lovers, and I'm not simply referring to their looks - I'm talking about the flair between them, in the early scenes when their physical and emotional attraction blossoms so genuinely, and then when they meet again 5 years later, and both display their angst and want for each other despite the time that's passed, and it's all done so candidly that, for a moment, it made me become intensely irritated at the realization of the absolute garbage that most movies bring us in depicting love. Cecilia and Robbie radiate incessant and palpable chemistry.

The thing I'm most intrigued by, in terms of people debating this movie, will be what is said about how people feel about Briony. Try to picture yourself at 13, and REALLY think about whether or not this isn't something you COULD have done, horrible a thing as it was. So many things are warped at that age in one's mind, and you don't have many complications in your life (especially if you're upper-class like the Tallis family), and when you have a crush on someone at that age, it can consume your thoughts. Just think back to middle school/high school. There is a scene in Atonement in which a reference is made to the fact that, since only five years passed between the two acts, it might be unreasonable for Briony to feel like she was "too young" and for her to now ask for forgiveness. The question is posed bluntly (even though I'm paraphrasing here): "Back then you didn't know what was right, but now you do?! How old do you have to be to differentiate between right and wrong?!" There's far more to this scene than initially meets the eye, so I won't reveal more about it, but I thought it was something worthy of pointing out. Can she really be blamed? I'd say definitely yes, but is it something that vile that you could never forgive, especially since at her age she couldn't have known that what she did would have the bitter effect it had on the future of three people, including hers?

I never exaggerate when it comes to movies, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that Atonement is monumentally amazing.

10/10