Heartbreaking

Rating: 9/10 (24 April 2009)

I'm a chick, which means I love tearjerkers and this film is no exception. I wasn't actually going to see this movie, but my mom bought it along with Love Actually. They were both in an economy pack and it was really cheap and since mom liked both films' DVD covers she bought them. And so I watched Love Actually first which I didn't really care for. Then I watched Atonement a few days later, and this film just blew me away. I haven't read the novel so I can't compare them or judge one or the other, but I can say that this is one of those films that if you haven't read the novel you will still understand it because it is so well explained and told so brilliantly by Pride and Prejudice director Joe Wright. And from both films I can already tell he's going to be a high in demand director.
****WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS****
The story is about a thirteen year old overly creative girl named Briony Tallis, who is an aspiring writer. She comes from a wealthy English family. The year is 1935 and World War II is rapidly approaching. One hot summer day soon turns into a chaotic one when Briony witnesses an intimate moment of sexual tension between Cecilia, her older sister, and Robbie, the housekeeper's intelligent son who goes to the same University as Cecilia. Briony misinterprets this innocent moment and thinks that Robbie is somehow assaulting her sister.
After Briony reads a letter meant for her sister from Robbie, she makes up her mind that he is a sex crazed pervert who is obsessed with her Cecilia. Later that night she witnesses Robbie and Cecilia in the mists of passionate lovemaking in the library, she mistakes their act of love and believes that Robbie has raped Cecilia. Later when Lola, her fourteen year old cousin, is raped while searching for her twin brothers who have "run away", Briony is the only one who witnesses the act. She convinces not only Lola, but herself that Robbie is the rapist.
Lola immediately believes her as does the rest of her family all except Cecilia who maintains that Robbie is innocent and defends him during an interrogation with an inspector. But it is simply not enough to save poor Robbie from been prosecuted and sentenced to years in prison. When the war begins however five years later, Robbie is permitted to leave prison so he can enlist in the army.
The rest of the film consists of the troubles and pains that both Robbie and Cecilia have to go through after Briony's lie tears them apart. They fight to be together, but it seems like they are destined to be apart. Meanwhile Briony grows older and as she does she realizes the mistake she has made and is later revealed during the movie that petty jealousy was perhaps the reason why Briony made up the lie. Of course Briony doesn't realize until later that her lie has horrible consequences not only for Cecilia and Robbie, but for the rest of her family including her cousin Lola.
Vanessa Redgrave delivers a great performance, however short, as the elder Briony.
What I love about this film is that at the end you are left somewhat empty because we find out that she never truly realized the kind of damage that her lie caused, and she never truly achieves her atonement by not telling the complete truth and disguising it with something that makes her feel less guilty about what she has done.
This film has great performances by McAvoy, Knightley, and newcomer Saoirse Ronan. I am definitely looking forward to Saoirse's upcoming performance in The Lovely Bones. Another thing I love about this movie is the film score by Dario Marianelli.
If you like romance, tearjerkers and intricate story telling that this is must-watch for you.