Beautiful characterization and narration

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2018)

In the 1930s English countryside, young Briony, an aspired writer with great imagination, just added the final touches to her first ever play. She waits for her cousins' arrival to stage it with them and show it to her family, including her older sister Cecilia, and house employees. However, she is mostly exited to show it to Robbie, the house gardener, for whom she has developed a crush on. Briony is unaware that Robbie's heart is already taken by Cecilia, who reciprocates the feelings. Their relationship successfully remains a secret to everyone until one day a particular incident crashes the peaceful days of the Tallis household and triggers a series of events that will leave consequent scars on the characters.
The movie is a two-hour long flashback seen at most times from the point of view of Briony, that we see growing from a young, naïve and selfish 13-year-old girl, to a more mature young women, and finally to a wise but regretful old lady. Everything within the plot revolves around the mistakes Briony has committed when she was younger and how she needs to understand them and to cope with their consequences as an adult, taking her on a journey towards personal development. The purity of Robbie and Cecilia's love is also very touching. Moreover, the way the movie is filmed is esthetically breathtaking, with a lot of beautiful and complex shots such as the Dunkirk beach one take scene. If the original soundtrack of Atonement won an Oscar it is also for a reason. Indeed, the music fits extremely well with each scenes of the movie and truly brings it to life. Some very well composed tracks include one of the first of the film which is made using the noises of Robbie's typing machine, and the long track which accompanies him during the Dunkirk scene and manages to this scene all its power. Finally, what also truly makes this movie worthwhile is the final twist, along with the very emotionally packed final scene.
Atonement is therefore a very well executed movie whose beauty and uniqueness rests on its narration, its twist and turns, its complex characters and their development, its breathtaking cinematography and its original soundtrack. I highly recommend this movie to everyone but beware of some hard topics that are evoked in it.