"Mr. Minghella, your time is over" - Joe Wright.

Rating: Null/10 (16 January 2008)

So it seems Anthony Minghella has a successor. Two years after his feature debut, a pleasant adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel "Pride & Prejudice", Joe Wright makes another good feature - "Atonement", a movie that shamelessly screams Oscar. Both Minghella and Wright have proved their undeniable visual talent and taste for megalomania. The biggest compliment I can give "Atonement" is that it's better than Minghella's "The English Patient", although it's been almost equally overrated.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie, but it's not particularly memorable. What really bothers me is the old formula that is so finely used here: a gorgeous-looking couple of protagonists (James McAvoy and pouting queen Keira Knightley), stunning cinematography (by Seamus McGarvey, "The Hours"), classy music score (by Dario Marianelli), pretty costumes (by Jacqueline Durran), to tell a tragic story of love and war based, of course, on a best-seller (by Ian McEwan). The cast is precise: McAvoy, officially the "new Jude Law", gives a good performance, although not half as impressive as his turn opposite Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland"; Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave are all good as the anti-heroine Briony Tallis, but no one really gives THAT performance. Keira doesn't ruin the movie because she didn't have much to do except looking pretty (which she's great at) and sad all the time, but she still needs some acting lessons - this girl is definitely one of the most overrated young actresses of our time.
Undoubtedly, "Atonement" is a feast for the eyes, and has elements to please romantic audiences and critics alike. However, its emotional sterility shows that Wright can be Minghella's successor, but is still miles away from a master of beauty AND heart, like the great David Lean. 7/10.