"Atonement" clinks and clanks its way to being a clunker of a film

Follow your high school English teacher’s advice, and read Atonement; don’t just watch the movie. We all know that director Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice) can successfully adapt novels into films, but his most recent film, Atonement, falls short.

Based on the novel by Ian McEwan, the film begins on a sunny day in 1935 at the Tallis’ summer estate in the British countryside. Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan), an uptight thirteen year old who feverishly types away fantasy stage plays on her typewriter in her spare time, witnesses several heated encounters between her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and the housekeeper’s educated son, Robbie (James McAvoy). Robbie and Cecilia both share a fondness for each other that they keep hidden to the world. By mistake, Robbie exposes his intimate feelings for Cecilia through a typed letter, igniting a smoldering love. Just when it seems that they can be together forever, a chain of misconceptions and a juvenile accusation by Briony forever changes their lives. As Briony grows up, she is able to realize the weight of her accusation and the scarring effects that it has had on other people’s lives. Briony’s life becomes defined by her guilt and endless quest for atonement from Cecilia and Robbie.



Briony, at all ages, uses writing and more importantly the typewriter in her quest for forgiveness. As she types away, she begins to learn valuable lessons of how momentous words can be. The typewriter becomes an integral part of the plot. The easily identifiable sound of the typewriter creates positive tension through its natural clank, clank beat. The blunt sound of the typewriter becomes the heartbeat of the film, pacing the story and reiterating the importance of what words have the power to do. Dario Marianelli, the musical composer, pairs the clanking of typing with the urgency of the piano notes to add excitement to the film’s musical score. The unusual beat is evident in the beginning of the film, heightening the climax.

Perhaps director Wright and screenplay writer Christopher Hampton’s best achievement is the unbearable sexual tension that is prevalent in the first third of the film. And just like the product of a typewriter, the first third of the film is clean, structured, and well-paced.

Clank. Clank. Marvelous. Clank. Clank.

The passionate love story that unravels in the course of just one night, seen in the first third of the film, is not convincing enough to captivate audiences for the entire film. Sadly enough, as with all good things, the first third of the film comes to an end. In a bittersweet transition, the sexually charged subtle hand grazes and passionate library love-making are traded in for brilliant yet boring cinematography with a mediocre plot.

Don’t get me wrong, the film’s cinematography is beautiful. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey packs the film with breathtaking depictions of war; for example the British soldiers aimlessly waiting on the beaches of Dunkirk or Robbie cautiously walking through a field of lush reddish-orange poppy flowers. But scenes like these do more for the epic appeal of the movie than they do for the development of the story. The emphasis on cinematography causes the film to drag heavily in the middle, differing greatly from the typewriter rhythm that is created early on.

Claaaaaaaaaaaank. Claaaaaaaaaaaank. Yawn. Claaaaaaaaank.

The longer the film runs, the more you hate Briony Tallis. Her character is seen at three different ages and is perfectly cast in all of them. The young Briony, as played by newcomer Ronan, gives the exact amount of emotion and maturity needed to explain the character as a child. Romola Garai gives a strong screen performance as Briony as a young adult. Garai shows a lost soul seeking for forgiveness and identity at the same time. Although she gets little screen time, the elder Briony, played by Vanessa Redgrave, successfully shows that sometimes wounds never heal.

Some books were never meant to be adapted for the big screen. Watch the film on mute for the cinematography, but leave the plot and characters up to your imagination. Atonement should be read, not watched.

The End.

Clank, Clank, Clank, DING!