My Baby, He Wrote Me a Letter

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2007)

Greetings again from the darkness. Teaming up again after "Pride and Prejudice" are director Joe Wright and the finally maturing Keira Knightley. This time they tackle Ian McEwan's monster novel and for the most part deliver a tense, emotional ride.
Knightley and James McAvoy ("The Last King of Scotland") are very good and very believable together, but the "star" of the film is Knightley's wicked lil sis played by three actresses - Saoirse Ronan (age 13), the weak link of Ramola Garai (age 18) and a perfectly cast Vanessa Redgrave as the elder Briony wrapping the story up for the viewer in a TV interview for her final novel. By the way, the interviewer in that scene is "The English Patient" director Anthony Minghella.
Not to give anything away, but normally the story is what makes a film enjoyable for me. Here, I actually admired the film's structure and delivery of the story ... definitely not dumbed down the way so many book-to-movie projects are. Certainly the middle of the film drags a bit as McAvoy wanders through the countryside and 18 yr old Briony pays her penance as a war nurse, but the first 45 minutes of the film are truly outstanding.
Just a warning, this is not the feel good, sappy Hollywood garbage that many think it is. Many scenes are extremely uncomfortable to watch and I heard more than a few sniffles coming from the crowd. The score is outstanding and expertly conveys depth to many scenes ... especially the remarkable long cut as McAvoy walks through the beach camp for soldiers.
Excellent support work from Brenda Blethyn and Benedict Cumberbatch ("Amazing Grace"), and again the elegant Ms. Redgrave perfectly captures Briony's struggle for the truth and redemption and "atonement".