A Visual Masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (31 December 2007)

It isn't often that a film comes along and sweeps me away into a trance of beauty that lingers hours later like a delicate but potent perfume--that was the brilliant, epic film, Atonement.
We arrived at the theatre quite early as we usually do to claim our favorite seats, near the top and right on the aisle (I have to have an aisle seat because I have the bladder of a newborn baby). Being an independent movie I was somewhat surprised to see how full the place was filling up. I know that it has been critically acclaimed and has been nominated for a piles of awards but I still expected the theatre to be sparse do to the attraction of the National Treasure sequel. So I was surprised (and happy) to see so many people interested in an independent flick. But they kept piling in all the way until and into the previews. I haven't seen a theatre house that full since Titanic when we literally sat in the aisle to see it.
So, enough of my blathering--let's talk a bit about this visual masterpiece, shall we? Where to begin? Well, I've been thinking about what to say about a movie that blew my mind. It has taken me about 4 hours to put my brain back together again enough to write about this piece of art.
This film is really a like a three part play that grabs your attention in a shocking way and leads you down a tantalizing path of wonder, surprise, fear, anger, sadness and relief all the way to the credits. The dialog is minimal so much of the story is told through body language, cinematography and music. The cinematography is sweeping in capturing the grandeur of the scenes while maintaining focus on the main characters and important elements of the movie. The visuals were stunningly vivid and very memorable, even now as I'm typing I'm still going over these amazing images in my mind. The sets were meticulous in their authenticity and style. Yes, this movie was nothing less then poetry on film, watch for the Dunkirk scene in particular. It is no understatement to say that the visuals in this film swept you away and made you feel as if you were living the story with the characters. Each scene was a masterpiece in and of itself so that at the end of every one of them you feel the anticipation of reading the book and quickly turning the page to see what happens next. There were some very artsy long-shots in this film and they worked because of the detailed and awesome size of the sets.
The body language was intense, expressive and utterly human. Ascending star, James Mcavoy, who played Robbie was brilliant in his body language, you could really feel his restrained yet passionate nature. I didn't feel that Keira Kightley matched his energy but she gives a better performance here in this film then her dreadful performances in the Pirates franchise. This leads me to the young starlet, Saoirse Ronan who played a very complex, deeply dysfunctional character who felt more mature and intelligent then she actually was and learns a powerful lesson for it. Her facial expressions and intense eyes left an imprint on the memories of this movie that I'm recalling.
This brings us to the score, which stuck to a select few songs but it worked quite well as it kept with the films focused, intense mood. One song in particular acted like another character, a storyteller which arrived now and then to sweep us along to the next grandiose scene. It was subtle in its elegance but then not all that glitters is gold, sometimes the most beautiful thing is the one most over-looked by the majority--the cliché, "diamond in the rough." As you can tell I am wacko over this movie and give it a 10 out of 10. Seriously. If this one doesn't win the Oscar for Best Picture then it will be a tragedy. I can't recommend this one enough, unless you aren't into intense, subtle, artsy fartsy, complex love stories.
I think the thing that is sticking with me the most is that this movie reflects the strange reality that we as humans are fated to experience, and perhaps that is why I related to it so much. Unlike most movies, life is full of unexpected twists and turns and this movie captures that essence like no other that I've seen in a long, long time.