Telling A Vicious Tale

Rating: 9/10 (18 February 2008)

Some of the best elements of Wuthering Heights and The Children's Hour are combined in Atonement to make a really fine romantic film. It's been nominated for several Oscars and is certain to take home something from this year's Academy Awards ceremony.
James McAvoy and Keira Knightley are a pair of fateful lovers who novelist Ian McEwen no doubt was inspired by Charlotte Bronte. McAvoy is the son of the housekeeper and Knightley is to the manor born. They do so look like Heathcliff and Cathy as performed so many years ago by Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon.
But they've got a young Mary Telford in their midst from The Children's Hour. Class distinction robbed Olivier and Oberon of earthly happiness, but in Atonement it's a terrible and vicious lie, told by a young girl with too vivid an imagination.
Saiorse Ronan plays Knightley's younger sister who tells the vicious tale. I can't recall another instance where a juvenile performer has been up for a Best Actress Award. Usually those are confined to the supporting categories. But young Ms. Ronan may just pull it off at this year's Oscar.
The main parts of the story take place in the United Kingdom from the late Stanley Baldwin years to the beginning years of World War II, of Dunkirk and the Blitz. Romola Garai does a fine job in portraying a slightly old version of Ronan's character. The sets and the cinematography showing the period have gotten deserved nominations.
The coda to the story is provided at the very end by Vanessa Redgrave in today's times. She's become a very successful novelist now and she brings the audience through a television interview the rest of the story. Her portrayal of a dying woman who now wants to make some amends is so moving I am mystified why the Academy voters overlooked her in the Supporting Actress category. There is no way anyone will leave the theater with a dry eye.
While it's still in theaters don't miss Atonement.