Cinematic Splendor: ATONEMENT reaches the standard of the novel

Rating: 10/10 (26 January 2008)

For those who have had the immense pleasure of reading Ian McEwan's ATONEMENT not once but several times, basking in not only the brilliant story/mystery but also in the inordinately beautiful language, rest assured that the film not only does the book justice in the transference to the screen, but in the hands of screenplay writer Christopher Hampton (we know that McEwan approved of the modifications as McEwan is one of the producers of the film) becomes even more clear in its realization of the complex plot and finds the visual beauty inherent in McEwan's prose. Joe Wright as director steers this story well, finding just the right amount of back and forth nonlinear development that formed the magic of McEwan's initial weaving.
The cast is uniformly superb. From the initial self-centered liar Briony Tallis (an impressive Saoirse Ronan) to the years' later sorrowfully guilty young nurse Briony (Romola Garai) to the 'epilogue' Briony of Vanessa Redgrave, the entire story is adroitly centered on this perpetrator of tragedy. But without the power of James McAvoy's falsely accused Robby Turner and Keira Knightley's tragic Cecilia Tallis the triad would not work. Even the smaller yet important roles assigned to Gina McGee, Brenda Blethyn, Jérémie Renier and countless others are played to perfection.
The cinematography by Seamus McGarvey captures not only the misty tranquility of 1935 pre-war England complete with creative use of luminous light sources as well as the raw brutality of the battlefields as England enters WW II. Dario Marianelli's music score (much of it played by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet!) incorporates the superb Sir Thomas Beecham recording of 'La Boheme' with de los Angeles and Björling as incidental music to the typing of Robby's fateful note and then proceeds to incorporate the typewriter as if it were an instrument in his orchestrations.
Rarely has this viewer been so moved by a film (and perhaps that may have been related to just having heard a performance of Britten's WAR REQUIEM at the Los Angeles Philharmonic the previous night!): it is the perfect marriage of novel, cinematic realization and commitment on the part of all concerned in the creation of this superlative film. Highly Recommended on every level. Grady Harp