Professional and classy drama whose only significant weakness is the inability to deliver the emotional gutting that it should have been (MAJOR SPOILERS)

Rating: Null/10 (5 May 2008)

As a thirteen year old girl, Briony Tallis has a passion and creativity that sees her channel her energy into writing novels and plays. Her upper class family live is happy and privileged. However a late night search for two of her young cousins who have gone off by themselves sees Briony stumble across her other young cousin being raped. Briony identifies the attacker as Robbie Turner, the young working class man taken in by her family who is also the new lover of elder sister Cecilia. In one night this accusation rips the family apart, shattering lives perhaps irreparably.
I wasn't sure what to expect from Atonement, never having read the book or really knowing much about the story. As a result I found the film to be a rather sumptuous and engaging watch but yet at the same time to be quite unsatisfying in regards the emotional content which I imagine the book must do much better. I imagine this for the simple reason that the film alludes to it and that the book has significantly more time to deliver in this regard. The thing for me is, and I'll jump right into the spoilers here, the film didn't develop and engage me enough for the story to hurt and the ending to crush. I didn't long for Robbie and Cecilia as much as I should have done and as a result I found myself watching the story rather than feeling it. The emotional impact of the ending is undercut by this as well. Without the hurt or anger in the viewer at the news that any happiness in their lives was a complete fantasy comes as a twist more than a punch. The presentation of this twist is also not perfect because for me it came over like it was giving Briony a way of finding her own forgiveness. It is a false atonement though and one given to her by herself to the benefit of nobody else. This sense of pointlessness and loss is not followed through on though and instead we get another "false" scene of happiness that seems to be suggesting that Briony has ultimately done the right thing; whereas I felt that she could never have atonement for what she did, whether I wanted her to or not.
I might be reading too much into it but that was what I thought and I didn't think that the film delivered that well enough. That said, the story is still engaging and solid. The jumping around within time structure worked surprisingly well and it did hold my interest easily. What makes the film though is the delivery, which is classy and professional in almost all regards. The sets and costumes hit you first because it is very well located and framed; you can feel the heat and relaxed air of the meadow, the stiffness of the dining room and so on. It looks and feels perfect for period and place; some will feel that that the typically English stiffness is a barrier to the film but I did not. The soundtrack is worth noting as well as it builds in the typewriter sound so well that it is present but yet unobtrusive. Wright's direction is excellent and the many touches he employs makes this stand out from being another English period piece. I liked the fades to black in the backgrounds and some other character framing shots that did keep the literary feel. Of course the money shot is the one-take around the crowded beach  an impressive shot from a technical point of view and a real pleasure to watch.
The cast is the final area of delivery and of course the running time of the film and the requirements to hook the audience put a lot of pressure on them. I felt that McAvoy stood up to this pressure well and delivers a convincing and heartfelt performance throughout, making me care for his character. Knightley is not as good but she is not Pirates of the Caribbean either. I never felt for her or the pain she carries but yet at other times she is good  the love scene being the most convincing (and another really well delivered scene as well). Ronan is the best of the Briony actresses. I thought that Garai didn't give much away (partly because she is having to play a character as written by that character) and Redgrave, although a strong presence, was treated too well by the film in my opinion.
Overall though this is a really well made film that has class dripping from the stylish direction, the score, the set and the performances to name a few. The emotional impact is surprisingly not what it should have been and I thought that the ending was disappointingly touched with hope and forgiveness that I thought was ill-fitting.