The Language Of Cinema Can't Disguise A Problamatic Story

Rating: 6/10 (27 December 2012)

When ATONEMENT was released in 2007 I made a point not seeing it due to the hype . Critics were falling over themselves to judge the film a " masterpiece " and it's interesting that all these critics were British . When it comes to harmless shallow jingoism the British film critics are unique . While some countries have an obscene tradition of murdering people because " they're not one of us " the British lovers of art fawn sycophantically over the slightest piece of mediocrity if there's some Anglo-Saxon Celtic connection and since ATONEMENT is set in a pre war 1930s Britain with posh folk we have the archetypal class driven British movie that appeals to jealous egalitarian Americans . It was interesting that the film didn't do very well at the American box office and that despite receiving an avalanche of prestigious nominations it had a very small award from nomination ratio . This tells you something
After seeing it after the hype has been dead for several years my impression of it is that on a technical level it is a very impressive film . From the opening scene which involves both sound editing and imaginative camera work there's a lot to impress cinephiles . Perhaps the most impressive aspect is the cinematography by Seamus McGarvey . The way the colours contrast and seduce the audience with an on screen beauty is worthy of the best works of the great Roger Deakins . There's also a scene set on the beaches of Dunkirk where the camera floats around for ten minutes never cutting once which has entered in to legend . One wonders why director Joe Wright wasn't Oscar nominated for this scene alone . Perhaps he was trying too hard to impress ?
Unfortunately perhaps it was down to some very clumsy errors on the part of the director that he didn't receive more . As was pointed out at the time the story takes place in 1935 then jumps forward with a caption saying " Four Years Later " with the evacuation of Dunkirk which in fact took place in May -June 1940 which every schoolboy of the 1970s would know . This caption can't be defended down to the early segment taking place at the end of 1935 because it's obvious the way people are dressed that it's Summer 1935 . Other irritants involve a Lancaster bomber flying around the skies of 1935 England and a black cockney corporal in the BEF . It's not impossible to have a black cockney in the British army of that time , just unlikely . What would be impossible would be Corporal Mace to be overweight as seen here . Rationing had been introduced and there was little fat in the British diet in those days . Hands up anyone who has seen a photo of a fat person circa 1940 ? Thought not
These irritants might be forgivable but one thing that is fundamentally flawed comes from Ian McEwans source novel . Robbie is found guilty of child rape and sentenced to several years in prison . When he is in Northern France he states that he was given a choice to either serve in the army or complete his sentence . In reality this wouldn't have happened in real life since conscription didn't extend to prisoners serving sentences . This becames even more unlikely when we're shown a segment set " Six Months Earlier " which would place that event round about Nov/Dec 1939 when Robbie has completed basic training . The truth is for Robbie to have completed basic training he'd have needed to join the army before conscription was introduced in the Autumn of 1939 . Before that the British army was an all voluntarily professional army . This fact makes it doubly implausible for a convicted child rapist to be given a choice between serving a sentence and serving in the military
As the title suggests ATONEMENT is a redemption plot but seems poorly translated to screen . The film ends with Briony Tallis on contemporary TV plugging her latest book called Atonement ( Oh Meta-fiction . How wonderfully clever - not ) and stating that the scenes she wrote where she finds a reconcilation between herself on one side and Robbie and Cecillia on the other is total fiction since Robbie died on the beaches of France and Cecillia died in an air raid a few months later . This might have worked on the printed page but comes across as problematic on screen. Put it like this if Robbie was having a death dream that wouldn't be as confusing as what is seen here and you feel somewhat cheated by the way events happen . It's not helped by the fact Briony is a compulsive liar who ruined someone's life . The fact she grew up to be a major successful novelist who will die of old age is another factor that will alienate. Some people are beyond redemption and atonement in its literal ecclesiastical meaning is nonsense to any humanist
In all you can understand to a large degree the number of plaudits and prestigious nominations this film received on its release . It is a visual delight for those of us who understand the language of cinema . Conversely you're also to understand why it wasn't able to convert the acclaim in to actual awards . It is very problematic from a narrative point of view and for a film to achieve true greatness you must find some empathy for the protagonists and empathy is in short supply for this film with its clumsy storytelling and characters