"Atonement" fails to live up to the hype

Visually stunning. Ultimately disappointing.

Joe Wright’s (Pride & Prejudice) film adaptation of Ian McEwan’s 2001 best-selling novel, Atonement, left me confused. I really wanted to like it but simply couldn’t. It’s a wonder it was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture.

A Titanic wanna-be, Atonement, marketed as an epic romance transcending time and war, falls flat. Christopher Hampton’s (Dangerous Liaisons) weak screenplay stifles the film’s strong motifs—love, betrayal and guilt. The film has excellent bones and could have had real potential but the menial script and moderate character interaction hold it back.

It’s England 1935. The haunting clinks and clanks of a typewriter accompany budding writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) as she finishes her play. The precocious 13-year-old is the very antithesis to her glamorous sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) who just returned home from college. The sisters don’t seem to have a strong bond (foreshadowing later events) but express a mutual excitement to see their brother, Leon (Patrick Kennedy), while sharing one sisterly moment outside their countryside estate.

Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the housekeeper’s son, has also returned from college, but only attended because of the Tallis’s generosity. Briony has an obvious crush on Robbie. However, the attraction between Robbie and Cecilia is much more subtle. So subtle, in fact, they interact little throughout the film. Their passionate romance has no build-up, no substance. With little dialogue between them, it’s a wonder these two ever get together at all. An awkward encounter between them by a fountain makes it clear that Robbie loves Cecilia and she doesn’t realize his existence. Cecilia discovers her true feelings only after receiving a letter Robbie wrote, but the little amount of background information given about their relationship is unsatisfying. After Cecilia and Robbie declare their love for one another, Briony tells a vengeful lie against Robbie. Unable to foresee the implications of her actions, Briony’s jealous rage rips the couple apart and destroys the lives of others.

Robbie goes to prison for his alleged crime eventually entering World War II around 1939. In time, Cecilia becomes a nurse awaiting Robbie’s return. They see each other once in five years time. A simple touch of the hand expresses their passion but little development about their relationship makes the romance unbelievable.

Throughout most of the film, there are vignettes of lovesick Robbie traversing Dunkirk trying to find his company with two other soldiers. Cecilia hardly gets any screen time and the end of the film follows Briony as she too becomes a nurse attempting to atone for the sins of her past.

Instead of creating an exciting, heart-wrenching story about love and loss, Atonement statically presents the lives of three individuals who seem utterly disconnected from one another. Also, the odd chronology of events presented in the first 30 minutes of the film is somewhat jarring. Certain flashbacks later in the film do add some dramatic effect but it is definitely confusing when Knightley’s character is dry one minute and soaked the next.

Thank goodness for Seamus McGarvey and his mesmerizing cinematography. He brilliantly created captivating portraits on screen. Images of Cecilia in an emerald gown gazing at a mirror with cigarette smoke wafting around her face mark the time period while scenes of young Briony surrounded by patches of yellow and white wildflowers personify her untamed yet innocent nature. Every scene looks like a photograph carefully painted on the screen—particularly, that of the soldiers on the beaches at Dunkirk. The attention to detail makes the landscape look as if it came straight out of an oil painting. It’s difficult to pull away from the vibrant compositions. Alas, the lackluster interaction between the characters helps remedy that urge.

Unfortunately, Atonement has no driving force. The timing and pacing are off. Nothing terribly exciting or surprising happens though the ending is slightly unexpected. And when Cecilia utters, “Come back” to Robbie (the film’s one memorable line) it is strangely reminiscent of the days of Rose and Jack on that ill-fated ship. This is definitely not an “I’m on the edge of my seat” kind of film. The people snoring and chatting in the theater were a sign of that.

Whoever said looks can be deceiving wasn’t kidding. It’s as if everyone but the art department took a back seat. The absence of dialogue and character development made the movie heart-wrenching, but not in a good way. By the end of the film, knowing who Cecilia and Robbie are seems very unimportant. Plus, staring at pretty pictures for over two hours only goes so far. It appears that Atonement’s filmmakers have a few things to atone for themselves.