All it took were the words of a child. All it took were the words and accusations of one child, and it set in motion events of one of the most unusual romances I’ve ever come across. “Atonement” is set around the hook of a man accused of a crime, which gives him surprising clarity on his life. Robbie is a servant for a local wealthy family in the countryside on the cusp of World War 2 where Hitler is beginning his reign of terror. But, “Atonement” is less about the lieu of the war, and more about what leads to Robbie’s inevitable interaction with the big war that he didn’t intend on. It begins on a light note, as Joe Wright, known for the moderately entertaining “Pride & Prejudice” adaptation, starts the film off as an odd series of coincidences and happenstances that take a toll on the characters all around them.
It’s hot the night of the big incident, and Wright piles the heat along with the incredible sexual tension into one big melting pot that begins to stir in the mind of young angelic Briony. Robbie and the young matriarch Cecillia bear an incredible attraction to one another, the servants are restless, and the house master has invited some friends over to spend the holiday, and soon the series of events begin to take place. Wright sets down on Briony, who is the wide-eyed observer of all the adult situations occurring around her. Briony, who is on the verge of becoming a great writer, finds her imagination working overtime as disappointments inevitably introduce themselves. Saoirse Ronan is wonderful and adds a distinct touch to the character of Briony who is both a villain and a tragic figure as she plays observer and apparent lovelorn admirer to Robbie. She’s not particularly an antagonist, as she seems to have a bit of good in her, but she’s so blatantly evil in her actions to keep Robbie to herself that the viewer is not sure whether to sympathize with her or pity her.
But surely enough, Wright displays enough innovation to make the first hour of “Atonement” a look at the imagination and perspective of children in the face of heartbreak, desire, and love. Wright and screenwriter Hampton dabble with scenarios and then plays them back in the mind of Briony who sees what she wants to in the face of insecurity, and Ronan is simply a stand out performer her. Once Robbie is accused of a crime, he’s drawn into World War 2 where he’s forced to endure many hardships. But once it jumps out of the war time love doldrums that make this a typical epic drama, it becomes a great thriller about a girl trying to make up for her past, and the people she hurt attempting to forgive her. The ultimate message of “Atonement” is about sins and mistakes, and how sometimes mistakes and sins simply can’t be forgiven, undone, or forgotten no matter how hard we try, and one will pay for it as long as they live.
Hampton doesn’t completely keep Briony a simple plot device as we delve further into the war time experience and visit Briony who is now a war nurse and still a shell of a woman haunted by her crime. Romola Garai picks up the slack personifying the adult Briony, giving a truly stellar performance as a woman who has managed to experience much of what she assumes Robbie may, and struggles to reclaim her humanity amidst wounded soldiers and old friends begging for death. As for McAvoy, he is absolutely great and the character of Robbie is a tragic individual who ends up the victim of scorn and circumstance forced to endure the brutality of humanity for punishment of simply being desirable to someone he never suspected. “Atonement” is never a black or white depiction of unrequited love and jealousy. It’s simply about a woman attempting to find a way to make up for her past, and realizing that she may never be able to.
Wright seems to strive for Oscar consideration and that’s one of the main downfalls of “Atonement.”
It’s so thick with period pretension, and endless clichés with witty dialogue, and romantic chemistry between the aristocrat and the pauper that it was difficult to really enjoy “Atonement” all the much. It seems many are enjoying this more than I do, because I mainly just see a movie striving for that big Oscar for Wright, and Knightlet, and the inevitable Oscar to which ever established British actor makes a ten second appearance. “Atonement” is just a decent drama romance that never put it over the top for me. I was never overwhelmed, I was never sucked in, and surely enough, I never cared about much of the human relationships beyond Briony and McAvoy. Knightley and McAvoy have such a ho-hum dull relationship together that I never cared if they were finally going to undress and make love, I never cared about the witty banter between the two, and I just didn’t care about the “heat” Wright works so hard at creating here.
As for the whole war time theme, it wreaks of derivation and seems intent on copying much of the same formula films like “Gone with the Wind” excelled with, while most of the special effects seem just an excuse for Wright to include sweeping pastels of bloody carnage and mayhem that the war brought about. We’re never with Robbie in the war long enough to feel his plight, and once the film reaches the war time aspect and drops the scandal, it becomes so lethargic and humdrum that I wanted to go back to the original premise. Knightley will likely grab an award or two, but her performance for this man was simply middling. Knightley once again lacks any on-screen presence and never convinced me to sympathize for her torturous tenure as a war time nurse or a deprived lover. Knightley can never seem to keep up with most of the actors here, and she’s a bonafide weak link I wish would have been strengthened with a better actress. Like Wright’s previous award contender, “Atonement” is just a good enough drama with many flaws, but excels with strong performances from McAvoy and newcomer Ronan, with a sad message truer to life than most films.