a story of love and betrayal in times of war

Rating: 8/10 (30 May 2009)

The story of Joe Wright's film 'Atonement' starts as romantic and social drama in the setting of a 1930s high class mansion, very similar to the one of 'Easy Virtue'. The rich elder daughter of the owners of the estate Cecilia (Keira Knightley) falls in love with handsome and clever Robbie (James McAvoy) the son of the janitor and the two live a short and passionate affair which is brutally interrupted by Briony the young sister of Cecilia, a confused but imaginative teenager who misreads some of the scenes she is witnessing and sends to jail Robbie for a crime that he did not commit.
The next part of the story happens in Europe at the start of the second world war. Robbie has won his way out of prison volunteering to serve as simple soldier in the army, and lives the tragedy of war and the days of the debacle of Dunquerque. His moral anchor is a short meeting he had with Cecilia and the hope to get back his love and life.
In the third segment we meet again Briony, out of her troubled years, and starting to understand the evil she had made to her sister and her sister's lover. She renounced the easy life at the estate and studies at Cambridge, has volunteered as a nurse to do some good, and tries to contact her sister to get forgiveness and fix the evil she has done by recognizing that her accusations were false. But is atonement sufficient and can evil deeds be undone in real life? Or can imagination compensate for what destiny has decided to happen in real life? Is it actually destiny, or hazards and misunderstandings of real life that govern what happens?
It is the final segment of the story that will provide answers. Briony becomes the real hero of the story, with her permanent alternation between imagination and reality, with her tentative to take responsibility and get absolution from deeds she committed long time ago but which need to be with her for the rest of her life. The final key scene gives a different perspective to the whole story and this is probably reflecting the structure of the narration in the original novel.
There are two scenes of beautiful cinema in this film - the run in the forest in the first part of the film and the long shot scene on the beach of Dunquerque bringing to life the debacles of war - and the name of the director of cinematography Seamus McGarvey must be mentioned in this context. Out of a fine cast I liked most James McAvoy who brings to screen personality and charm to match the beauty and talent of Keira Knightley, and Vanessa Redgrave with a moving performance as old Briony, a role that fits her perfectly.
I did not read Ian McEwan's book, but the quality and intensity of the story can be felt in the script of 'Atonement'. Director Joe Wright uses a couple of times an interesting technique of playing the same scenes from the perspective of different characters, emphasizing the role of perception (real or false) in the story. As a viewer I had the feeling that this time we may be in the case of an adaptation to screen that succeeds to be true to the spirit and quality of a good book.