Atonement – 5/5
The term “unfilmable novel” is used rather too freely these days by certain journalists. It has been applied to Ian McEwan’s Booker-prize-winning novel Atonement. Despite its preoccupation with words and their impact, this is palpably not an unfilmable book as director Joe Wright proves in stunning fashion. His recent version of Pride and Prejudice was a solid if not spectacular film. Here he really shows that he is a talent to be reckoned with. He conjures up a great film which is both suggestive of the classics of British cinema whilst remaining decidedly modern. It is visually stunning, full of atmosphere and brilliantly acted.
One stunning scene at Dunkirk is just jaw-dropping. Reminiscent of Russian classic Come and See (which brilliantly conveys the horror and surrealism of war), in a 5 minute tracking shot, the camera circle around scenes of devastation and bizarre elements, continually returning to James McAvoy’s face as he makes his way along the beach.
For those who haven’t read the book, the plot (which the film follows closely) comes in three distinct parts. Firstly, at a country house in the middle of heatwave in 1935, spiky Cecilia (Keira Knightly) gradually comes to realise her true feelings for housekeeper’s son turned trainee doctor Robbie (McAvoy). Meanwhile Cecilia’s younger sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) stumbles upon the rape of their cousin and wrongly imagines Robbie to be the culprit. Jumping forward to 1940, Robbie is making his way towards Dunkirk, Cecilia is working as a nurse, as is Briony (now played by Ramola Garai) who realising her mistake, tries to make amends and atone for her mistake.
The final coda, in the present day, with Briony now played by Vanessa Redgrave, could well leave some viewers feeling cheated, but it will doubtless provoke and is necessary for the themes of the story – what purpose do happy endings serve and is atonement possible when circumstances dictate otherwise. It will also raise questions about what, if anything, Briony has actually learnt.
Briony is convincingly played as the same person by all three actresses (with an uncanny physical resemblance). Redgrave and Garai are always dependable but it is the performance of child-actress Ronan that is a revelation. Thematically appropriately, she is often shot gazing through windows. The opening section is shot in lush colours and effectively conjures an atmosphere of heat and tension. Even here there are hints of the shadow of war. Come the war, the appearance becomes more muted as does the mood, but still visually impressive.
The score is a perfect fit in creating the atmosphere, taking sounds from the action, like a typewriter key, and building out of it, before merging back into the action with a solitary key being tapped on a piano.
As to the stars, twenty-something brit-stars McAvoy and Knightly come into this with rather differing reputations in the press. McAvoy is quite the darling who can do no wrong and Wright draws out of him what is perhaps his most accomplished performance to date. Knightly, despite a string of decent performances in good films and an Oscar nomination, seems to attract more than her fair share of flack. Her performance here, convincingly conveying the fragility under Cecilia’s spiky exterior, should put all that too rest and confirm that she is now a grown-up actress of some talent.
Whether you have read the novel or not, this is a wonderful adaptation that you should see.
The term “unfilmable novel” is used rather too freely these days by certain journalists. It has been applied to Ian McEwan’s Booker-prize-winning novel Atonement. Despite its preoccupation with words and their impact, this is palpably not an unfilmable book as director Joe Wright proves in stunning fashion. His recent version of Pride and Prejudice was a solid if not spectacular film. Here he really shows that he is a talent to be reckoned with. He conjures up a great film which is both suggestive of the classics of British cinema whilst remaining decidedly modern. It is visually stunning, full of atmosphere and brilliantly acted.
One stunning scene at Dunkirk is just jaw-dropping. Reminiscent of Russian classic Come and See (which brilliantly conveys the horror and surrealism of war), in a 5 minute tracking shot, the camera circle around scenes of devastation and bizarre elements, continually returning to James McAvoy’s face as he makes his way along the beach.
For those who haven’t read the book, the plot (which the film follows closely) comes in three distinct parts. Firstly, at a country house in the middle of heatwave in 1935, spiky Cecilia (Keira Knightly) gradually comes to realise her true feelings for housekeeper’s son turned trainee doctor Robbie (McAvoy). Meanwhile Cecilia’s younger sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) stumbles upon the rape of their cousin and wrongly imagines Robbie to be the culprit. Jumping forward to 1940, Robbie is making his way towards Dunkirk, Cecilia is working as a nurse, as is Briony (now played by Ramola Garai) who realising her mistake, tries to make amends and atone for her mistake.
The final coda, in the present day, with Briony now played by Vanessa Redgrave, could well leave some viewers feeling cheated, but it will doubtless provoke and is necessary for the themes of the story – what purpose do happy endings serve and is atonement possible when circumstances dictate otherwise. It will also raise questions about what, if anything, Briony has actually learnt.
Briony is convincingly played as the same person by all three actresses (with an uncanny physical resemblance). Redgrave and Garai are always dependable but it is the performance of child-actress Ronan that is a revelation. Thematically appropriately, she is often shot gazing through windows. The opening section is shot in lush colours and effectively conjures an atmosphere of heat and tension. Even here there are hints of the shadow of war. Come the war, the appearance becomes more muted as does the mood, but still visually impressive.
The score is a perfect fit in creating the atmosphere, taking sounds from the action, like a typewriter key, and building out of it, before merging back into the action with a solitary key being tapped on a piano.
As to the stars, twenty-something brit-stars McAvoy and Knightly come into this with rather differing reputations in the press. McAvoy is quite the darling who can do no wrong and Wright draws out of him what is perhaps his most accomplished performance to date. Knightly, despite a string of decent performances in good films and an Oscar nomination, seems to attract more than her fair share of flack. Her performance here, convincingly conveying the fragility under Cecilia’s spiky exterior, should put all that too rest and confirm that she is now a grown-up actress of some talent.
Whether you have read the novel or not, this is a wonderful adaptation that you should see.
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