Review of Atonement (2007) by Lynn M — 27 Aug 2011

An incredibly heartwrenching story rendered totally believable by a brilliant selection of actors, especially James McAvoy and the 3 actors playing Briony throughout her life. James is thoroughly delightful as a playful, serious, vulnerable and passionate man, who has apparently been in love with his childhood friend Cee for some time.

One has immense empathy for his character, Robbie. His emotions are clearly known with just the slightest movement of his most expressive face. The scene where he cries briefly with Cee is so real and so heartbreaking.

It's refreshing also to see a man showing his emotions openly. Even though 13 year old Briony's actions are despicable and largely unforgivable given the consequences, Romola excellently portrays a genuinely remorseful Briony, who appears to have done the best she could at the time.

Vanessa, as the older Briony allows us to understand how she desperately tried to make up for what she did, fully aware that telling the truth would give no hope. The setting and scenery at the start of the movie are also breathtakingly beautiful with the latter scenes in hospitals and at Dunkirk vivid and totally real.

The sound track is also very appropriate. The movie has us think much wider than the actors and the love story plot, in that it makes us look at social conditioning, class structure, social niceties, taboos, injustices and of course the stupidities of war.

A thoroughly captivating movie.