"Atonement": a haphazard must-see

One would think that Atonement, the film adaptation of Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel, is the product of a long established, Academy Award-winning director. It’s not. This breathtaking 2007 film is only the second feature of director Joe Wright. His work results in haphazard perfection.

The film grabs its audience with a heart wrenching love story and tumbles through every sentiment possible leaving viewers pleasantly traumatized. It is a collision between Wright’s first feature, 2005’s Pride and Prejudice, and the tragic last half of a much better, more mature Titanic. Surprisingly, it is not the plot that makes Atonement so intriguing; it is the way that the plot is revealed. It sucks the audience in with a shallow scene and reveals the meaning in the next. You think you know what is happening only to find out five minutes later that you didn’t. This method creates a sense of captivating confusion.

This epic story spans decades, beginning on the wealthy British estate of the Tallis family, moving to London hospitals and World War II’s Dunkirk battlefields — displayed in a heart-stirring 5 ½-minute tracking shot — and finishing with a heartbreaking yet eloquent present-day monologue. The story is about two sisters, Briony (Saoirse Ronan) and Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightly), both in love with the same servant boy, Robbie Turner (James McAvoy). Young Briony’s reaction to a toxic mix of feelings toward Robbie and Cecilia’s heated romance serves as the movies center.

The movie is quick once it reels you in and doesn’t ease up until the closing scene, where Vanessa Redgrave gives a moving performance as a dying Briony. The actors deliver award-worthy performances. James McAvoy, the true star of the movie, lends soul to the film through poignant scenes and an understated presence. His emotion is unmatched by the other actors and his actions portray what words cannot. His creation of Robbie Turner is spot on and he, along with Saoirse Ronan, playing young Briony, make the movie. Ronan is quiet but effective, and her expressions and composure make her a success in this film. Even with no dialogue these stars would have glistened.

At the Academ Awards, only one of the actors received a nomination (Ronan for actress in a supporting role). McAvoy was sadly overlooked without so much as a nod for the Academy. The film itself, however, was up for several Oscars, including best picture, writing for an adapted screenplay, art direction, cinematography, costume design and score.

Wright wows the audience, intensifying scenes with dramatic zooms and rapid shifts of perspective. He sets a steady pace for the film in the opening seconds with a strategically clicking typewriter that is woven in throughout the movie. The cinematography peaks at Dunkirk; however, all of the French war shots are incredible. Robbie’s entire journey, from the shelter where he is first seen as a soldier to the beach where over 300,000 troops were rescued, is shot masterfully. It is a film that had great opportunity for failure, but the perfect mix of professionals created something worthwhile for viewers. The team came together to form a magical mix that resulted in a film with morsels of excellence throughout.

Atonement is modern through direction and cinematography, yet timeless in screenplay and score. Unfamiliar perfection is made as every element clashes together haphazardly, all through disorder, trauma and timeless love. It is a divine piece of art while still being entertainment at its finest. Full of history, passion and anguish, this movie will leave the audience flooded with every emotion and in thought for hours if not days.