Atonement (2007)

Rating: 6/10 (12 April 2020)

Directed by Joe Wright. Starring James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Kennedy, Brenda Blethyn, Vanessa Redgrave, Juno Temple, Harriet Walter, Gina McKee, Daniel Mays, Jérémie Renier. (R)
Respectable adaptation of Ian McEwan's same-named novel (by Christopher Hampton) set in England during the interwar period, depicting the consequences of a lie told by 13-year-old Briony (Ronan) that brings ruin to her sister (Knightley) and the young housekeeper she loves, Robbie (McAvoy). Although the foundation of the plot device that creates the evidentiary misunderstanding is straight out of a clumsy farce, the scenes set at the Tallis country estate are far and away the most involving (due in large part to Ronan's poised presence, as well as the promise of tension and scandal). Once the story moves ahead a few years to the Second World War, the storytelling becomes disjointed and Wright's decorous instincts are vanquished by preening showmanship, exemplified by the Dunkirk beach scene, a complicated and technically impressive long shot that exists as a grandiose monument to itself without the rationality or resonance it needs to really work. At one point, Robbie instructs Briony to provide "just the truth...no embellishments"; pity the filmmakers didn't follow suit. Despite falling far short of greatness, the movie is too ably performed, richly photogenic, and aurally scintillating to dismiss--the implementation of clacking typewriter keys in Dario Marianelli's Oscar-winning score is one of the few bold experiments that succeeds.
63/100