Unbelievable - SPOILERS

Rating: 10/10 (23 August 2007)

I've just seen Atonement, and I'm still stunned. I cannot believe how fantastic that film was. I wanted it to go on and on, even though it was two hours long. When it got to the final scene, and the twist was revealed, I felt like I'd just got to know these characters, that I'd barely scratched the surface with them, and all too abruptly, the film had ended.
The story focuses on three inhabitants of an opulent 1930's home; the housekeeper's son (Robbie), his lover (Cecilia), and Cecilia's young sister Briony. When Briony reads a sexually explicit letter sent by Robbie to Cecilia (the words 'lick', 'wet' and the 'c' word are used) she labels Robbie a 'sex maniac', and when a young girl is raped on Briony's family estate, it is only too easy for Briony to convince herself that it was Robbie who forced himself upon her. The police believe her, and Robbie and Cecilia, who are deeply in love with one another, are torn apart, the course of their lives dramatically altering. Cecilia moves to London to become a nurse, vowing never to see Briony again, and Robbie is sent to fight in World War Two, with only the hope of seeing Cecilia again sustaining him. Briony, realising her mistake, must spend the rest of her life atoning for it.
Quite simply, if this film does not pick up the best film, director, actor, actress, supporting actress, editing, cinematography, soundtrack...the whole shebang, there's no justice in the world. I had such high hopes for this film, and they were all realised. It was so exquisitely beautiful but with an edge; shots of verdant French countryside overshadowed by planes, forests full of dead schoolgirls, blood-red poppies swaying in the wind as soldiers stride through them, and, in one of the most stunning pieces of film I've ever witnessed, a five minute tracking shot through Dunkirk, bypassing soldiers singing on a veranda, horses being killed so Germans may have no use of them, and fires springing from forlorn buildings, destroyed by relentless bombing. It's an incredible scene.
James McAvoy is stunning. His performance is so powerful and moving. He seems to convey everything through a glance, a movement of his hand, a tremble in his voice. There are so many standout scenes with him at its heart, but my personal favourite would be the one where tears slide silently down his face as the camera pans back, revealing children whose bodies bare the unmistakable marks of gunfire. He gives a tour de force, and while every actor delivers a near faultless performance, his weary face and tortured eyes are as powerfully moving as anything you will see this year.
Keira Knightley is brilliant as the upper-class stiff whose devoted love for James McAvoy's Robbie makes her abandon her family. And Romola Garai and Saoirse Ronan, who play the same characters, are remarkable, especially 13 year old Ronan. She's a revelation as Briony, playing her with snotty, pretentious relish.
I cannot recommend this film enough to you. Every single frame is fantastic, and if I were to attempt to list my favourite scenes, I'd ended up writing the whole movie. As I can't do that, however, I will pick two: the scene towards the end where Robbie confronts Briony about what she'd done, his anger reverberating around the room as she cowers in the corner, terrified he will strike her, I loved. The emotions were superbly played, particularly by McAvoy. The death scene at the end was heartbreaking. My mother never cries. In fact, I've seen her cry just once in fifteen years, but even she was weeping. The cinema was absolutely packed and I couldn't express my grief, so I stuffed my fist into my mouth to stop myself from howling. My face was soaked with tears and I couldn't stop shaking with the weight of them. I never even cried that much at Titanic or Green Mile. In fact, the whole of my row (and the row behind and in front) were crying too, from what I could hear. There were loud sniffles and choking sounds from all over the theatre. The person next to me swore when the twist was revealed and then burst into tears. The way they did it was so moving. How the picture of the cottage that Robbie and Cecilia had promised to stay at when the war ended was clutched in Robbie's hand when he died. How Cecilia was seen floating beneath the underground, drowned when a bomb exploded the waterworks. When you realise that every scene post-Dunkirk including Robbie and Cecilia never happened, because they were both dead. There are huge pangs in my stomach, now, just thinking about it and the tears are rolling down my face! I knew Robbie was dead, anyway, or dying at least. There are hints dropped throughout the film, like when he opens his jacket and reveals an infected shrapnel wound; when he sees his mother in a hazy sequence that is clearly him becoming feverish; when his friend lies him down, tucks Cecilia's letters next to him, and hushes him because his shouting's waking everyone up  and how Robbie promises to be quiet. I'm remembering little bits now, like Cecilia's letters floating in the sea, and Robbie dying several hours before the British were rescued and evacuated out of Dunkirk. I also loved 13 year old Briony in the pool, asking Robbie if he would save her if she fell in, and then proceeding to do just that to see if he would, and the older Briony, comforting a delirious, dying French soldier at a hospital.
This film is absolutely brilliant. I loved everything about it, apart from the fact it's not longer. There's a wonderful dreamy quality to it but the performances are earth-shatteringly real. Joe Wright's served up another triumph, in only his second foray into film directing.