Atonement

Romantic films are certainly not the kind I look for, but I have nothing about having an occasional look at genres that are not my favourite and today I decided to watch the best rated romance of 2007, Atonement. The result is that for most of the runtime I was bored and frustrated, hoping for the end. The direction is brilliant, the film has lots of gorgeous visuals, but it didn’t have much of an effect on me. But then the story jumps to the present and the end shattered me. The tempers suddenly flare and I have to say that I don’t regret putting on this film. 70% (24.08.2008)

Beautiful again; Joe Wright, 2-0 to you. The last act has a seemingly somewhat stilted, disjointed feel (especially with the insertion of Briony's life moments), but the final denouement makes sense and emotionally shreds you, even though the sudden setting in the present day is somewhat distracting. Thank goodness for Joe Wright, who brings a kind of old-world beauty and elegance back to cinema with his way of storytelling, with emotions that send pleasant chills down the spine. I was very surprised by James McAvoy, who has undergone a personality transformation from the unlikeable bum in The Last King of Scotland to a charismatic young man whose every gesture I believed. And Keira Knightley? Despite her slightly anorexic type I have a soft spot for her, she’s improving as an actor from film to film and her face here exudes the refined beauty of a silver screen star of the pre-war era. The main musical motif is still in my head and I don’t want it to leave. (26.12.2007)

It is surprising that at a time when filmmakers sully one quality book after another that for several years now, adaptations of the works of Ian McEwan have been successful, that you very much. Each of the five adaptations of his works so far worked well and three of them very well. And that includes Atonement which, while not being his best, is McEwan’s best known novel. Joe Wright is growing into a big name of contemporary cinema. And if you think that McAvoy is just a pretty boy with a sexy accent, this movie will set you right. You don’t often see so many powerful scenes linked together into one effective whole that works on several levels at once. And the fact that Atonement just happens to rag you through all shades of emotional feelings is just icing on the cake. (01.01.2008)

One subconsciously expects a dose of kitsch and one gets it. But if he is not a cynic, he is sure to be swept away by all the splendor of the images and the story. Joe Wright has gotten rid of his only flaw - character confusion - and delivers a conscious and distinguished spectacle that has so much heart that the viewer's emotions at times can't keep up. The mixture of laughter and sadness creates one of the most romantic experiences in modern cinema. I’d also like to point out that Keira's sweet face has finally grown into a character actress and Joe Wright is the current No. 1 talent int he UK - even Brian De Palma would have admired him for that fantastic steady-cam on the beach. (23.01.2008)

The category of believability was actually key for me. Atonement contains scenes that I would call captivating without hesitating. Those few minutes of war scenes are among the best and most cinematic choices I've ever seen on the subject. Without a single shot fired, with the extraordinary weight on the expressive power of images, without embellishment, without pathetic words that one would certainly find in an American production... In a refined form, the film is simply able to engage and draw one into the plot, offering first-class visual enjoyment of the story. The film is able to arouse sympathy thanks to well-acted characters. The only, but fundamental failure of Wright's melodrama is, from my point of view, the story, which, with its schematic nature, suffocated everything civil and literally pushed me in front of it, preventing me from fully entering the story, identifying with it and sympathizing with it. At the end, which upgrades everything to a tragic crescendo, I was only watching the film with the non-participation of the observer, who rejects the offered catharsis. This is undoubtedly a strong moment, in which, it turns out, the only real atonement of Briony is the lingering belief in the cleansing power of fabrication, and I experienced it with my head rather than my heart. From my point of view, Wright's film suffered the most from verbosity and unnecessary strumming of emotions, whereas it would have been enough to let the film speak through its specific means and not dictate a high level of literacy and sweet-soured phrases (however sympathetic they are to me, these phrases refer more to classical English literature than to the Hollywood tradition). This is, of course, my personal problem, but I think there are a few of us who are unaffected by the film. And that is not a coincidence. [6.5/10] (03.02.2008)