A good movie but not great

Rating: 6/10 (3 January 2008)

With all the rave reviews of Atonement, I was surprised to be only mildly impressed. After viewing the movie I re-read the comments of others, and it seems that those who read the book prior to seeing the film have the highest praise. For those who haven't read the book, like myself, the story became confusing at times.
The first third of the movie, which takes place in a beautiful English house, is definitely a perfect 10--the sets, the acting, the characters, etc.--all contribute to a sense of anticipation about what's to come.
Possible spoiler: After one of the main characters is falsely accused and taken to jail, the movie breaks down. The sets and acting continue to be amazing, but the story doesn't hold together. There is one scene which is so confusing and non-sensical (Ce, Robbi, and Briony in Ce's apartment) as to be distracting. This scene is later explained by an older version of Briony toward the very end of the movie, but to be honest, I was so distracted trying to figure out the scene that I couldn't get back into the story.
I suspect the book is amazing, because the concept of the story is brilliant--the actions we take can have devastating effects on others. But the limited character development early on prevents a viewer from feeling complete sympathy with them as they move through their lives and through the consequences of Briony's lie. For example, the relationship between Ce and Robbi is (spoiler) given to us as a sexual relationship with mere hints that it's more than that, yet the rest of the story requires us to believe they had a deep, deep love for each other. And we're never sure why Briony (spoiler) tells the lie that she does--what is her motivation? Was she jealous of her sister? Of Robbi? Better character development and less confusion would have made this movie a 10 in my opinion.
Read the book first and then you'll probably love it.