A Tale of Two Stories

Rating: 3/10 (20 October 2008)

Atonement reminds me of Scorcese's "Gangs of New York" in that the director felt compelled to insert a 'second story' into the main narrative. In 'Gangs', there's a whole sequence about the New York Draft Riots which is completely superfluous, tacked on at the end simply because the director was enamored with a particular interesting piece of history. Similarly, in 'Atonement', we're treated to a glimpse of the British Army retreat at Dunkirk which is brilliantly photographed and reminds one of a scene from hell in a Hieronymus Bosch painting. Despite the Dunkirk scene's artfulness, it's all padding and it needs to be there because without it, 'Atonement' would be little more than a specious melodrama about the evils of the British aristocracy.
The first hour of Atonement is interminably long. The viewer soon discovers there's very little intellectual substance to this tawdry tale. In a nutshell, Briony, a 13 year old girl in an upper class family becomes jealous of her sister who has suddenly become intimate with Robbie, the housekeeper's son, who lives on their estate. Briony is the Brit version of the 'Bad Seed' but we never really find out what motivates her except for a schoolgirl crush and some unexplained revulsion toward adult sexuality (oh my, upper crust 13 year old snob is just so incredibly repulsed by witnessing her older sister and the housekeeper's son having sex in the library!!!). Speaking of that library scene, do you really believe that Cecilia and Robbie would have sex in the library where anyone could just walk in on them? And what about the crude note Robbie gives to Briony to give to her sister? If he loved her so much, why did he even think of writing that note in the first place and why would he entrust it to Briony (who he could have easily guessed would have looked at it?).
Worse than these plot contrivances, is the accusation of rape that lands Robbie in jail. Notice how Cecilia hardly sticks up for Robbie at all as he's hauled away by the police. Wouldn't she have put up a bigger fight or was the whole point that she was cowed by her snobby family? The 'investigation' into the rape lasts about 3 minutes on screen. In real life, many people would have been questioned and various suspects and angles would have been pursued. There's none of that here since 'Atonement' must fit the classic melodramatic mold--an innocent lover (victim Robbie) is broken by Bad Seed victimizer (Briony). At least there is an antagonist--for awhile--but Briony then disappears until the end of the movie, only to reappear (in the imagination) of a now elderly Briony who is working on her "21st" and "last" novel. The now reinvented Briony is a nurse (who opts not to go to Cambridge) and attempts to atone for her sins by throwing herself into the War effort. And the elderly Briony somehow 'atones' for her indiscretion by creating a fictional denouement: the 18 year old Briony apologizes to Robbie and allows the star-crossed lovers to live out their lives in a picture postcard world at the seashore (this clashes with the not so surprising true ending revealed to us by Briony the novelist that Robbie died at Dunkirk and her sister was killed during the Blitz).
Atonement gets high marks for atmosphere and mood. It has some very nifty cinematography and the music enhances the dramatic encounters. The characters here are one-dimensional in that the upper-class Brits are petty despots (the children reflect the parents' hostility) and the working class are hapless victims (exemplified by Robbie and his mother). Atonement becomes another movie in the second half and overall sports two antagonists. The Bad Seed is replaced by the horrors of war. 'Atonement' is an empty vessel. Don't be fooled by all the 'bells and whistles.'