Atonement (Widescreen Edition)

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Product Description
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 08/26/2008 Run time: 123 minutes Rating: R

Amazon.com
Director Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice) gives Ian McEwan's bestselling novel a sumptuous treatment for the screen that should come to be regarded as one of the defining films of the epic romantic drama. Indeed, everything about this film stems from those three words: there is little here that is not epic, romantic, and dramatic, and Atonement is a film that masterfully expresses the overarching sense of adventure and emotion that such stories are meant to convey. In this instance, the story centers around the love story of highborn Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and housekeeper's son Robbie Turner (James McAvoy, in a star-making turn), in England shortly before World War II. Despite their class differences, they are powerfully attracted to each other, and just as their relationship begins Robbie is tragically forced away due to false accusations from Cecilia's younger sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan). She has a crush on Robbie, too, and after reading a private letter he sent to Cecilia, and then witnessing the first expression of their mutual love but mistaking it for mistreatment, her resentment grows until it leads to her telling the lie that will send Robbie away. Soon World War II breaks out; Robbie enlists and is posted to France, Cecilia is a nurse in London, and Briony, now age 18 and aware of what she has done, tries to atone for her actions--but none of them will be able to get back what they have lost. Knightley and McAvoy are perfectly cast as the young star crossed lovers, and the young Ronan is particularly impressive, but it's clear that the real star of this film is the director. Wright allows Atonement to revel in every moment of its story and each scene is compelling in its own way, but that now famous extended shot with Robbie on the beach at Dunkirk--filmed in one take and sure to be considered one of the great long tracking shots in film history--is the most memorable moment in this remarkable film. Atonement is an excellent example of what can happen when a great book meets great filmmaking. This is one that is not to be missed. --Daniel Vancini

Stills from Atonement (click for larger image).

Customer Reviews: Read 254 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Cinematic Splendor: ATONEMENT reaches the standard of the novel January 26, 2008
223 out of 241 found this review helpful

For those who have had the immense pleasure of reading Ian McEwan's ATONEMENT not once but several times, basking in not only the brilliant story/mystery but also in the inordinately beautiful language, rest assured that the film not only does the book justice in the transference to the screen, but in the hands of screenplay writer Christopher Hampton (we know that McEwan approved of the modifications as McEwan is one of the producers of the film) becomes even more clear in its realization of the complex plot and finds the visual beauty inherent in McEwan's prose. Joe Wright as director steers this story well, finding just the right amount of back and forth nonlinear development that formed the magic of McEwan's initial weaving.

The cast is uniformly superb. From the initial self-centered liar Briony Tallis (an impressive Saoirse Ronan) to the years' later sorrowfully guilty young nurse Briony (Romola Garai) to the 'epilogue' Briony of Vanessa Redgrave, the entire story is adroitly centered on this perpetrator of tragedy. But without the power of James McAvoy's falsely accused Robby Turner and Keira Knightley's tragic Cecilia Tallis the triad would not work. Even the smaller yet important roles assigned to Gina McGee, Brenda Blethyn, Jeremie Renier and countless others are played to perfection.

The cinematography by Seamus McGarvey captures not only the misty tranquility of 1935 pre-war England complete with creative use of luminous light sources as well as the raw brutality of the battlefields as England enters WW II. Dario Marianelli's music score (much of it played by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet!) incorporates the superb Sir Thomas Beecham recording of 'La Boheme' with de los Angeles and Bjoerling as incidental music to the typing of Robby's fateful note and then proceeds to incorporate the typewriter as if it were an instrument in his orchestrations.

Rarely has this viewer been so moved by a film (and perhaps that may have been related to just having heard a performance of Britten's WAR REQUIEM at the Los Angeles Philharmonic the previous night!): it is the perfect marriage of novel, cinematic realization and commitment on the part of all concerned in the creation of this superlative film. Highly Recommended on every level. Grady Harp, January 08

5 out of 5 stars

Unforgiven January 5, 2008
51 out of 61 found this review helpful

You will appreciate the movie more if you have read the novel. It is not a straightforward love story and definitely not a war epic. It is also not an English society story from the 30s, though it starts as such. A young girl with writing ambitions has her share of frustrations with family and with a failed crush. She sees things and misunderstands them involving her elder sister and her crush. This leads to false accusations, a wrong arrest, a life badly damaged, a love unfulfilled. The script handles the misperceptions of the girl perfectly, we get to see things in different versions. It is like time moving in loops.
The middle part shows us the struggles of the two separated lovers towards getting back to each other in the middle of war. Dunkerk for him, London hospitals' nursing wards during the bombing of London for her. The younger sister repents and tries to make up, but is rejected.
The final and shortest part is set in the recent past and has the former young girl explain what happened. You will find that the story makes perfect sense and is well constructed.
The book was one of McEwan's better ones. The movie is on par with the novel: I have rarely seen a better adaptation of such a novel. The script deserves an Oscar, as does the cinematography. Some of the images are outstanding, e.g. the 3 soldiers walking dejectedly and lost through France or Flanders towards uncertainty and Dunkerk, and the we see a bomber fly over them, but we see it only as its reflection in the small canal. Look at the pictures!
The cast is excellent and I disagree with those who think that KK is miscast, though her performance in Pride and Prejudice was more impressive.

3 out of 5 stars

3 1/2 Stars: Lies December 26, 2007
47 out of 71 found this review helpful

When the luminous Vanessa Redgrave as Briony, the elderly woman who seeks atonement throughout this film, takes the screen at the very end of "Atonement," this film finally makes sense, catches fire, and becomes thoughtful and meaningful. Redgrave adds Weight to the proceedings: something sorely lacking in this "Epic" love story.
With that being said, I found "Atonement" a very beautiful and stunningly produced film. For once, the shifting between time periods and between the lives of Briony (as a child, as a young woman and as an elderly woman), Cecelia (Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy: finally coming into his own with this subtle, heartfelt performance) is not a problem, does not confuse but instead adds texture, friction and verisimilitude: this is a film of remembrance after all...of events, reactions and situations recalled by Briony at various stages of her life: a life seemingly dedicated to righting a wrong from her young life.
In fact, "Atonement" is a film of penance. A film about a Mistake, a Misinterpretation, a film about a child's misplaced, unwanted and unwarranted love gone awry. Director Joe Wright ("Pride and Prejudice") carefully even reverentially directs this material which in several ways reminds me of Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour" in that a child is at the center of a controversy and her words literally cause big problems for an adult. Oddly enough Briony and Mary in "TCH" are both of a so-called "elevated" social class while the object of their invective is not. Wright should have mined this conflict between classes a lot more than he does. As it is, it is dropped and instead "Atonement" becomes less than what it could have been.
McAvoy's Robbie, though from simple beginnings, is obviously meant for great things. His mentor is Cecelia's father and he is off to Cambridge very soon after the film begins. McAvoy plays him with just the right amount of bragadaccio and humility: he knows he's smart, he knows that he is a star yet he knows his place...at least for the time being. Knightley's performance is more problematic. Her reactions sometimes smack of something akin to that of an American high school cheerleader in their lack of depth and feeling.
But, no one can deny the sexual heat that she and McAvoy produce in their terrific scenes together. You truly believe that these two could/can/would bed each other: the penultimate scene of Cecelia and Robbie in the Tallis estate library both clawing at each other like two cats in heat... reeks of musk, bristling stiff starched clothing and silk underwear.
"Atonement" then is not a complete success but instead is an example of lost opportunities on the one hand and of a director adhering too close to the source material on the other. Despite all of this, this is a film of uncommon physical beauty. If only the thought processes behind this film could have matched or surpassed the physical concerns we would have had a major triumph here. As it is, "Atonement" is merely a good not a great film.

1 out of 5 stars

You can sum it up in just a few sentences March 19, 2008
20 out of 37 found this review helpful

I'm in the minority here, I know that, but when I sat through Atonement I just couldn't find any "story" to get involved in. The plot was so basic, the characters so shallow, the ending so obvious that I felt it drug on for an hour longer than it needed to.

SPOILER ALERT

Atonement: Two sisters. Elder sister finds herself in love with a boy that the younger sister has a "crush" on. Younger sister tells a lie that sends the boy away to prison and distances the sisters for the remainder of their lives. Elder sister goes to nursing school and meets boy (released from prison to serve in the army). Elder sister and boy both die young, meaningless deaths before they can be together so younger sister writes a novel where the two wind up together to "Atone" for what she's done. Only when she is on her deathbed does she admit that it never came to be. The end.

5 out of 5 stars

Completely mesmerizing December 18, 2007
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

"Atonement" is a great example of an excellent book that was seamlessly adapted for the big screen.

Based on the novel by Ian McEwan, "Atonement" is the story of Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan), a 13-year-old girl growing up in England in the year 1935. Briony is a very intense girl who is obsessed with storytelling. She witnesses a series of events between her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), and Robbie (James McAvoy), the son of the Tallis family's housekeeper. Briony things she understands what she sees, but she really doesn't. When a terrible crime is committed, Briony points the finger at the wrong man, sending an innocent person to prison and leaving Cecilia absolutely devastated.

This is an amazing story about love, truth, and justice. I have read McEwan's novel, and I was blown away by how well this story transferred to the screen. Everything in the film looked just the way I'd envisioned it when I read the book, which is a great testament to the filmmakers. I was very impressed by many of the performances in the film, especially those of the actors portraying young Briony, Cecilia, and Robbie. Ronan is a superb young actress whose portrayal of Briony is absolutely brilliant. Knightley seems to get better and better with every film she makes, and "Atonement" is no exception. She brings Cecilia to life on screen and makes her evolve from a selfish girl with a high-and-mighty attitude to a passionate woman who will do anything to be with the man she loves. The on-screen chemistry between Knightley and McAvoy is unbelievably intense (that library scene...wow!). I think Cecilia and Robbie will become one of cinema's most treasured couples, right up there with Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler.

I also need to mention the amazing cinematography in the film, as well as the music. There are many spectacular camera shots in the film, and dramatic uses of light to enhance certain scenes. The film's score integrates Briony's pounding typewriter keys into the music of the entire movie, which is seamless and incredible.

I only have two small gripes about this film. First of all, the ending of the movie slightly differed from the ending of the book, and I don't understand why it was changed. Secondly, I wasn't thrilled with Romola Garai's portrayal of Briony at age 18. She just wasn't as creepy and intense as Ronan, which was disappointing. However, it's possible that I'm being overly critical of Garai just because Ronan was so utterly fantastic in her role. It would be a lot for anyone to live up to.

Overall, "Atonement" absolutely dazzled me. I appreciate that the film is so true to the book in every way, and it was wonderful to see this amazing story come to life. This is a must-see that has "Academy Award winner" written all over it.

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