Flawed, poorly paced but beautiful epic film

Rating: 7/10 (13 January 2008)

In 1930's England, Briony Tallis (Saorise Ronen) is an aspiring writer and excitable young girl. She lives with her family on an idyllic British homestead, with her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and grounds-keeper Robbie (James McAvoy) tip-toeing around a fierce mutual attraction. But then a series of events between the two are seen and misinterpreted by Briony, which ultimately lead Briony to accuse Robbie of raping her friend, 15 year old Lola (Juno Temple). Several years later, World War II is raging, Robbie is stranded in France as the British army limps to Dunkirk, and Briony (Romola Garai) and Cecilia are estranged from one another, serving as nurses in different parts of the country. With Cecilia and Robbie determined to get together, Briony must figure out how to atone for her mistake before its consequences become irrevocable.
Joe Wright's adaptation of Ian McEwan's "Atonement" has the feel and look of a David Lean epic, not to mention "The English Patient". A tragic love story, well-drawn, flawed characters, a wartime setting, and a series of striking images are all present. Unfortunately, "Atonement" doesn't live up to the aforementioned films, and though entertaining, it contains a number of serious flaws.
The story and character of Briony are what make "Atonement" so interesting. As an impressionable, inexperience young girl, Briony finds herself living through an extremely traumatic day. He sees Robbie apparently forcing Cecilia to dive into a fountain, accidentally deliver a vulgar message, and "raping" her in the library, before coming across her friend being assaulted. As a thirteen year old, her reaction is understandable, and I don't entirely side with the anti-Briony faction of viewers. Unfortunately, she decides that her confused version is the gospel truth, leading to jail and military service for Robbie and Cecilia's estrangement from family. As she's older, will she be able to fix what she did wrong, or has Fate taken it out of her hands? The relationship between Robbie and Cecilia is sweet, but in terms of interest the deeply conflicted Briony is squarely in the foreground. She is a very well-drawn character, and its to the credit of both the writers and the three actresses playing Briony that she works so well, and even elicits a significant amount of sympathy.
The film has several serious flaws, the most of which is hard to describe in a review: pacing. Even though the film is only 130 minutes, it seems a lot longer, with many sections dragging on and on. For an epic film, maintaining interest for its length is essential, and poor pacing is perhaps the worst thing that can happen. For a two hour film to seem like three or more is a serious handicap. Some of the film's stylistic choices are a bit much, for instance showing Briony's seeing an event and then showing how it "really" happened, as well as some of the slow-motion, and "re-wind" scenes. Many flashback scenes are also done in a disconcerting manner that irritates rather than intrigues.
The film has striking cinematography by Seamus MacGarvey, capturing the beautiful English countryside and the horror of war-torn France. The celebrated tracking shot at Dunkirk is well-done, although not impressive in the strictest sense. But the movie has its fair share of striking images in quieter moments to compensate: Robbie watching a bomber plane through his skylight window, the French soldier with a fatal head wound, a group of executed school girls in a field (a scene which recalls the cadet scene in "Doctor Zhivago"). On a purely visual level, the film is a masterpiece.
While I will not reveal it here, the film's climax came completely out of left field, and in a good way. It's one of the most tragic conclusions to a film ever, and the ending is the definition of bittersweet, in my opinion. It goes a long way towards redeeming many of the movie's flaws.
The acting is generally good. Briony is clearly the main character, and all three actresses - Saorise Ronen, Romola Garai, and Vanessa Redgrave - do a brilliant job with her complicated character. James McAvoy balances charm and bitterness as Robbie, and he is definitely on his way to becoming an A-list star. Keira Knightley is tolerable, but this film convinces me that she's just not a very good actress. The supporting cast is more or less non-descript.
"Atonement" has the look and feel of a great epic, and succeeds in being intriguing through most of its length. Poor pacing and a few questionable style elements prevent this from being a truly great film, but that doesn't keep it from being enjoyable.
7/10