Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #936 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-03-10
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Synopsis
On a sultry summer day in 1935, an upper-class British family prepares for a dinner party at their country estate. The participants include Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan), a precocious preteen writer, her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley), Cambridge graduate and femme fatale, Robbie Turner (James McEvoy), the housekeeper's virtuous son, who carries a torch for Cecilia, and various visitors and family members. A series of misperceptions, fuelled by the summer heat and Briony's childish hurts and fevered imagination, lead to a dramatic false accusation that lands Robbie in jail. We meet all three characters five years later in the thick of World War II, as foot soldier Robbie prepares for the Dunkirk evacuation and the two estranged sisters train as nurses in London.
Director Joe Wright (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) deserves high praise for translating Ian McEwan's highly internalised, multilayered tale of guilt, redemption, and the power and limits of the artistic imagination, into a sumptuous visual feast that not only conveys the intricate plot points of the novel, but dives headfirst into the emotional subtleties that make the story so wrenching. Whether any of the characters' actions are ultimately atoned for by the end of the film is a matter of perception, but Wright's sympathetic eye ensures that every player gets a fair trial. The young director favours long, lingering close-ups that trace every flicker of feeling--Ronan's luminous blue eyes clouding over with righteous gravity; the tremors of hurt and anger and love in McEvoy's sensitive face; the defiant jut of Knightley's jaw as it melts into tender affection. The honey-drizzled look of the first two thirds of the film contrasts achingly with the tension and seriousness of the action unfolding (and the grim intensity of the wartime sections), and the scenes on the beach at Dunkirk include masterly camera. ATONEMENT is a powerful story, retold in a way that even diehard fans of the book will appreciate.

Customer Reviews

Solid 4 stars for me....
I think you have to look past the hype and see the film for itself. In that regard, James MacAvoy was as usual superb, and brought his character (Robbie) to life. Saoirse Ronan as the young(est) version of Briony, showed us all of the intensity of a 13-year-old on the cusp of adolescence. Her motivation is clear - she has strong feelings for Robbie, feelings which she cannot express, does not know how to express, but somehow must do; and then she catches her sister and Robbie together, intimately, and it is the resulting bottled-up rage that destroys all three of them.

And what of Keira Knightely? I thought she was convincing. In the first part of the film her dialog is mainly cliches, but that would have been the way her character would have lived: moneyed, privileged, and probably over-educated for the life she will lead. She, too, must express feelings, and she too does not have words, but her actions on that hot afternoon are clear enough. It is Robbie who finds words, shocking words, and it is their revelation that triggers the crisis.

Finally, what of the title? Has Briony 'atoned'? I don't think she did.... people's lives were destroyed and broken, people died because of her action. Writing a book about the events 60 years later, and giving it half-a-happy ending is not atoning; and in Vanessa Redgrave's performance as the eldest Briony giving her apologia, we can see the understanding that nothing can atone for what was done.

A brilliant film
Having read the book, I wondered how this would translate to film. I've got to say that it far surpassed my expectations. This film is a showcase for the HDDVD format, it looks fabulous on a large HD TV. From the opening scenes in the house and gardens to the chaos of the wartime beach, it never fails to impress. I'm shocked at some of the reviews; I found it gripping from beginning to end, and visually stunning. My copy cost about a fiver: a bargain if there ever was one.

Void of Emotion


Dont believe the hype as this cinematic "must-see" is everywhere and it has the effect of sending the average critic stumbling to his thesaurus in search of gushing adjectives that all but close the book on the Oscar race. The time and setting of such a movie can vary, of course, as can the talent involved, but to a film, we are assured that here, in the dark, we will witness a true epic; a masterpiece of sweeping grandeur and lush, aching beauty that comes but once in a generation. Maybe this will be better than the last great British Classic: The English Patient.

There is Cecilia (Knightley), a spoiled, obscenely wealthy nitwit, and at what point we are meant to identify with her is beyond any sound judgment. We soon learn that she is empty, shallow, and bordering on caricature.

That a child's lies could ruin lives is an interesting premise, I suppose, but it seems more than a trifle that we should be at least partly concerned about the lives in question. We know nothing of Briony except that she is a budding writer seemingly lost in the recesses of her imagination, and one who just might be punishing her sister for being more attractive and outgoing. But if spite is her motivation, it's not as interesting that she later writes the novel she does (the "atonement" of the title), for why not attempt to justify her crimes through fiction?

Atonement is a flat, emotionless void in opposition to each and every idea it might accidentally encounter. Without the flow of the written word, this is a trite, humbug of a story; one that includes a wicked tracking shot through the chaos of Dunkirk for no other reason than to bring a shot of life to the proceedings which only serves to highlight an abundance of weakness with but a single moment of strength !!!!