Stupendous Man

Its been a while since a movie has compelled me to write a review on it. Atonement left me haunted; some scenes and some background scores still echo clearly in mind. Atonement is that good, and a testament even today good books can be adapted on screen. This is how a book should be adapted. Atonement clearly is my pick for movie of the year for me (Its a 2007 movie).

Atonement, a famous novel by Ian McEwan is a difficult book to adapt to screen. Its not the story per se that is difficult to adapt, but getting the core of the story to screen that is what makes it difficult. The real Atonement lies in the final act of the book where it hits you like a brick, almost unexpectedly. By changing the setting of the end a bit, the director was able to bring about the same shock to its viewers. At that point, you realize you must watch Atonement again to grasp what happened in the movie.

At its core, Atonement surrounds the lives of three people – Robbie, Cecelia and Briony. Briony misinterprets Robbie’s love for Cecelia as something very wrong, and frames Robbie in the rape of her visiting cousin. Although Cecelia believes Robbie could have done no wrong, she’s in the minority and helpless. Robbie, son of a caretaker and in class much lower than Cecelia is immediately sent to jail, where he’s given an option to either remain in jail or go to war. Robbie choses to go to war as a soldier.

5 years later, when Briony is older and more mature she begins to realize the misdoings of her actions and the consequences of her act. The rest of the movie is about what happens to the lives of all three of them – do they ever meet each other? Does Cecelia forgive Briony? Does Briony set things right for Cecelia and Robbie? Do Robbie and Cecelia get together to lead the happy life they wanted to live? Without giving anything away, I would say, just watch the movie. And yes, the ending is a shocker.

Performances wise, this movie belongs whole heartedly to James McAvoy as Robbie who does a brilliant job portraying the character of Robbie; he’s easily my pick for the best actor this year and would be a real shame if he didn’t walk away with the awards. Kiera Knightley gives a nuanced performance, and finally lends credibility to her acting prowess rather than her cute look. Though I am not quite sure if she was the right choice for the role. Briony as the 13 year old, the 18 year old and a much older woman were absolutely perfectly cast. Each of them at their age bring about perfection, especially the child actress. There is something eerily striking about the young Briony, which is exactly how she comes across in the book.

However, the movie and book would have both suffered had it not been the expert direction of Joe Wright and a brilliant screenplay. Given McEwan’s tendency to write non-linear structured stories, this was a difficult book to bring to life. Especially the third act which brings everything together, especially why the book is called Atonement and what does it really mean. I think Joe Wright succeeds in bringing out the core of the story. As with any Ian McEwan, his characters go into lengthy introspections, thankfully of which is quite less in the movie.

Cinematography and Music are a complete standout in the movie – absolutely brilliant. The music composed by Dario Marianelli is not just haunting but incredibly touching and fits the tone of the movie. The choice using the typewriter as part of music was awesome. Cinematography is consistently superb, be it showing the classic English Victorian side or the war ravaged Dunkirk.

Which brings me to the scene of the year for me. It all comes together in the Dunkirk scene, where the cinematography, direction, music, acting and pretty much everything else is just perfection. There’s this one long scene without any cuts that was shot with a steady motion camera that lasts for five minutes. Those five minutes are the film’s absolute best moments – an incredibly well shot scene. To imagine that such a lengthy scene was shot in ONE go, with thousands of extras all in the scene and to achieve the effect that Joe Wright does, is an art. This scene alone is worth the price of the ticket.

You can watch the scene at dunkirk here. Check out the acting, the background music, the scene and the way the scene has been shot.

All in all, Atonement is a class act. Simply not to be missed.