I Was Not Enthralled

Rating: 6/10 (29 March 2008)

Other than the lush scenery and ingenious photography, I see no specialness in this film. Set in pre-World War II England, the story is about a girl bearing false witness and how pettiness can ruin the lives of many. The plot is revealed in stages, showing sequences through the eyes of one character, then another, divulging important facts in the second viewing. At times, the vignettes play out of chronological order so that the audience is deliberately in the dark as to when the events are taking place. I enjoyed this technique and it does add "punch" to the overall piece. It seems that the movie is aimed at, and essentially about, the inner life of immature females and their writing and re-writing of scripts in their head. On every level this film feels like a chick film based on a romance novel. I should add at this point that the most shining example of great acting in the film is achieved by Juno Temple as a supporting, but pivotal character named Lola.
I did not feel a strong reason for the two main characters Cecilia (Kneightly) and Robbie (McEvoy) to love each other. Erotic thoughts are inadvertently revealed and suddenly, there is lasting love? It didn't work for me. The ending is supposed to be bittersweet, but I just thought it made the title seem silly. I'm avoiding spoilers here, but the actions taken by Briony offer none of the redemptive qualities of atonement. There are no scenes where she finally grows up and drops her infatuation with her own inner drama. Her attempts to orchestrate lives and feelings in real life as she can on the page, are never tamed. No, I'm afraid this film fell well below expectations for me both as a love story and as a film about Atonement.