Lifeless, bland, insert adjective here

Rating: 4/10 (17 February 2008)

Wow, I'm not even sure I saw the same movie as most of you. I found it to be blandly directed and almost totally lifeless from beginning to end. Even the much-ballyhooed one-take, which I would normally be a huge fan of, didn't move me or excite me at all. I just followed it mindlessly. I suppose my problem is I didn't buy any of it: I didn't buy the romance, I didn't buy the tragedy, I didn't buy Briony's regret. I actually kinda liked the first third-ish, up until Robby was arrested. It set up the story in an interesting way; it craftily showed Briony's distorted perception, which culminated in her false accusation. But once the story shifts to Robby and the war it just dies. We should have stayed with Briony the whole time, seen her grow up, seen her regret worsen and deepen, seen her ultimate act of atonement as actually meaning something. But instead we're left with some shoddy war scenes, a choppy final act, and a completely unfair and unrealistic ending.
I mean, it's not terrible. I thought Ronan was terrific and the dialogue (at least in that first third) was sharp and witty and enjoyable. But after just having seen TWBB, it just doesn't even compare.