Atonement is the story about the effects of one little lie by a precocious adolescent and the lives and love that is torn apart by it. It is by the same director as Pride and Prejudice and also stars Keira Knightly again playing an English woman.

Like Pride and Prejudice, the idyllic English scenery is beautifully portrayed and I was on the lookout for scenes that mirrored the triumphant sun rising near the end of P+P. There were many shots that came close, such as the grey skies over war-torn France, but none of them had the impact as P+P. For a long time, the story was mediocre. Partly it was because I had read reviews before hand and knew that Briony would make a false claim, but Atonement dragged along for an hour before the story began to show its hand. I honestly thought there would be more screen time dealing with the after effects of her decision.

What followed afterwards, with Robbie being sent to fight WWII was dramatic, and particular the fact that there was a war during the separation, brought home the fact the distressing impact of Briony’s words. There is a scene at Dunkirk, when the English were withdrawing from France, which was amazing. It is unlike what you normally see in war movies, and almost surreal in its expansiveness.

But the true payoff in Atonement, and what vaults it into Oscar Best Picture contender territory is the last ten minutes. All I can say is that it is incredibly cruel, and makes the movie what it is. If not for the ending, this would be a 2.5 to 3 star movie, but the ending makes it a solid 4 star out of 5.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: moviereview