Review: ATONEMENT

Joe Wright has delivered one of the most visually stunning films of the year about a crime committed and how it effects the lives of all those involved.

This story of passion, crime, consequence, regret, and tragedy begins at a manor in 1935 England when Briony Tallis (Saorirse Ronan), the 13 year old daughter of a rich household accuses the son of her family’s house keeper, Robbie (James McAvoy), of committing an unsettling crime. The reason for this outrageous accusation lays in the fact that Briony, who is quite taken by Robbie and who has a quite fanciful imagination, catches him and her sister Ceceilia (Keira Knightley) in an act of passion. Robbie is then taken off to fight in the war in place of facing jail time. What proceeds is the story of three very broken people whose lives have all been affected by their own immoral acts. All three have a part to play in the tragedy of their own lives, though at times the film tends to focus more on Briony's crime, and glosses over the fact that the two lovers, Robbie and Cecelia, had entered into a secret love affair of fornication and lust. The story, beautifully told through a series of flashbacks and stunning set design from the simplicity of an old English manor, too the vastness of the war torn French countryside is excellently paced, exquisitely acted, and wonderfully rendered.

The one major flaw is this mostly moral tale comes from the very title of the film itself. The film showcases a crime and its consequences in a way that is mostly truthful and poignant, but neglects to show us any deeper sense of what "Atonement" is really about. Why is “atonement” needed? How is one actually “atoned” for their wrong doings? Does Briony actually become “atoned” for her crime against Robbie and Cecelia? The film suggests that Briony is atoned through her works as a nurse, and a final act of allowing the two lovers to finally be together, even amidst tragedy. But unfortunately, that left me a bit unsatisfied in knowing that true atonement can only be accomplished through the sacrificial shedding of innocent blood.

GRADE: B+

RECOMMENDATION: This film is for adults only. It contains one very sensual scene and some disturbing war related images.