A Masterpiece about Love, War, and human Sins.

Rating: Null/10 (22 May 2008)

I have to say, this film may not be for everyone. The reason is because the film jumps in time a lot, and the film has to be seen cautiously. This film presents a lot of characters in a lot of different perspectives. Occurrences happen a lot from different points of view. The story starts in the year of 1935, from the eyes of a young girl named Briony Tallis(played by Saoirse Ronan). Briony ends up changes her sister and her sister's lover's lives forever. She sees them in a close embrace that she misunderstands. Because of her sights, she accuses the lover, Robbie Turner(played by James McAvoy), and he is sent away. The story is then set to 5 years later, where we see Robbie Turner in the war, his forgotten lover, Cecilia Tallis(played by Kiera Knightley), as a retired nurse that lives alone after five years, and the mysterious and misguided Briony Tallis at 18 years old(played by Romola Garai), who has struck away from the family and is trying to atone for her past mistakes as a nurse. Eventually, Briony Tallis has to overcome what she had to face through all her life, ending the film in the close of the twentieth century.
This film is spectacular because it tells about how a person's sins might change their lives forever. The film also shows how a relationship, one that was never really thought of, one that happened so fast, how it can grow stronger and stronger. The acting in this film is simply very strong. There is not much talking in a lot of scenes between the lovers, but both Knightley and McAvoy command the screen. I thought that James McAvoy deserved an Oscar nomination, and Knightley also did very well enough to get one. The breakthrough performance comes from Saoirse Ronan, who plays Briony at 13 years old. The reason her performance was under Supporting in the Academy Awards is because, even though Briony is really the main character, there are only about the first 45 minutes that she comes out in. Her performance, as a child actor, is really strong, and I am glad she got the buzz. The performance of Briony at 18 years old, played by Romola Garai, is also effective, and she really makes the film to go into the direction that Briony is now sorry for her sins and her lies that she made 5 years ago. The performance that was probably the most effective as a whole, was Vanessa Redgrave playing Briony Tallis at 77 years old. Even though she only has about 5 minutes of screen time at the end of the film, her revelations, her forgiveness, her honesty and her bravery that she conveys with emotions is just amazing. Some say the performance was too short to get recognized, but it did get recognized. Vanessa Redgrave was nominated for a Critic's Choice Award and other awards. Trust me, her acting will make you deeply emotional.
Along with the acting, of course, the screenplay is also very strong. Very dialogue-less, it is able to capture a lot of magic, also because of the director Joe Wright, Joe Wright does a lot of tricks in this film. He is able to capture a 7 minute long shot that is one of the best of the century, and is said to be remembered along with others. The film definitely deserved a Best Director nomination. The cinematography is amazing, The sets are fantastic and realistic, the costumes only help the film more. The original music score, which was done by Dario Marinelli, is probably the most original piece of music I have ever heard. It is a score that is haunting, without being very melodramatic. It's Oscar win was very well deserved.
Overall, this is a pure 10/10 film. It is superb, and it will emotionally shock you, because it has one of the most clever and revealing endings in cinema history. It is a film to endure, and one that I will definitely remember in 10 years, and one that should be classified, maybe as much as other classics like Citizen Kane. yes, it is that good, and it does revolve around one character, Briony Tallis, maybe more than you think...