2008 Woodie Awards
'Atonement' a very touching film
by Ali Ramsey
Issue date: 1/15/08
Section: Movies
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Based on Ian McEwan's bestselling book, "Atonement" is set in the 1930s at an old English country house where sisters Cecilia and Briony Tallis spend their time lounging on the lawn or talking with the housekeeper's son, Robbie (James McAvoy). Cecilia (Keira Knightley) spends much of her time shunning Robbie, while young Briony (Saoise Ronan) tries to impress him as much as possible.
Though Cecilia shuns him, it is later learned that she and Robbie have a very strong love for one another. Mistaking this love and their sexual exchanges as something else, Briony tells a lie that changes their three lives forever. "Atonement" is told through a series of flashbacks to gain perspective from all those involved during crucial moments in the story.
Progressing a few years ahead, the film jumps back and forth between Robbie in the war after enlisting and Cecilia and Briony working as nurses. Cecilia is shown waiting for the man she loves to return home and Briony realizing the tremendous mistake she has made.
Beautifully shot by director Joe Wright, the first half of "Atonement" is bright and warm as the Tallis family is shown around their country home. The mood and color of the film becomes dark and dreary, however, as shots of the war and the Dunkirk Beach take up much of the second half of the film. A continuous five-minute shot of the beach, its soldiers and wreckage is exceptionally shot and shows exactly what Robbie and these soldiers were going through during this time.
The film's score, often consisting of the sound of typewriter keys and the single plinking of a piano note, is done at such intense scenes in the film that it fits and works perfectly. Dario Marianelli won a Golden Globe for best original score for the film.
Playing Cecilia with class, Knightley proves herself as a true, award-deserving actress in this film. She has come a long way from pirate films and her elegance shows on the screen.
"Atonement" won the best motion picture-drama at the Golden Globes and is expected is to pick up a number of nominations and wins when Academy Award time arrives. One of the best films of 2007, this story captivates with its ability to show how a single lie and misunderstanding can ruin and forever damage the lives of three young people.
THE GRADE: A
"Atonement" is tragic, but worth the ticket price.
Ali Ramsey is a Reporter staff writer
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