An Artistic, Technical, and Emotional Masterpiece

Rating: Null/10 (16 December 2007)

Atonement opens on a young Briony Tallis jubilantly finishing a play to be performed that evening for her family. She stands and walks through her home, searching for her mother, and we follow her, ghostlike, looming above, as she searches. In a way, the themes of this film are summed up in this first shot: Briony, aimless, searching for truth in her imagination and fiction. And if this sounds like a contradiction, trust me when I say you will come to understand this by film's end.
I have not read the book, written by Ian McEwan, but after viewing this film, I am eager to pick it up and follow the thoughts of the characters more intimately than what is shown on film. What we have here is amazing work, both technically, artistically, and emotionally, yet on some level, it is unable to grasp the concept of writing fiction from Briony's point of view. There are no doubts about the talents of Joe Wright, who at 34 has now made two exceptional films (Pride and Prejudice being the other one) with his lead actress Keira Knightly, who herself grows in her abilities with each passing year.
James McAvoy cements his position as a leading man, creating a brilliant life in Robbie that glues your eyes to his predicaments and his thought on the world around him. He carries the weight of the film, and is the one who undergoes the most change. From his fresh faced boyishness in the opening scenes to the rugged, worn, and tired eyes in the latter, McAvoy is able to successfully convey the innocence of young love to the brutalities of war, and we love him for it.
Joe Wright has again, proved his talent as a film director, whose use of the tracking shot will be among the greatest, up there with Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, Children of Men, and Magnolia. His use with a camera lens is so poetic at times, they could be freeze framed and placed on walls as pieces of art in themselves. My only qualm is sometimes these shots are too technical, and distracts from the film itself. Though that is more of a personal observation than a general one.
And let's not forget to mention the score, which only enhances the epic feel it brings, successfully weaving diegetic noise (the typewriter in particular) with the non-diegetic, Dario Marianelli, composer of Wright's previous work, Pride and Prejudice, creates moody, dramatic pieces that perfectly set the tone of the scenes they play in. It's one that will be recognized in years to come.
Without a doubt, Atonement is one of the best films released this year, and certainly a must see for lovers of film in general, if only for its amazing tracking shot of a war torn beach in France. I, for one, look forward to viewing it a second time in the near future.