Atonement (**)
Starring: James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan
Seen: February 3rd 2008
** Out of ****
I went to see Atonement solely for the purpose of being slightly better prepared for the Academy Awards, and as you can see from my rating, I did not particularly enjoy it. I did find the study of the impact a child (or someone with insufficient understanding) can have on a lifetime if taken to somewhat extreme levels quite fascinating, since I’ve always been an advocate for first understanding before acting (or at least I’ve tried to be).
Saoirse Ronan plays the role magnificently, the little girl seeing only parts of what really happened, and influencing things in such a way that 2 peoples’ lives are irrevocably changed, and not for the better.
These two people would be James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, who finds a romance blooming between them upon which both are reluctant to act, seeing that Robby (McAvoy) is the son of Cecilia’s (Knightly) housekeeper in a time when that sort of thing was frowned upon (has it really changed that much?). The slightly awkward times that they do get the chance to pursue their romance, little Briony (Ronan) witnesses from afar, adding her own imaginative colour to the picture that she doesn’t fully understand.
Briony continues to expose what she believes to be happening, and Robby is arrested and taken away. But some time later the reunite and share intimate time with each other after Briony has fixed (at least in part) what she has broken. And it is at this stage that the film’s title becomes apparent. Briony has devoted her life to reuniting Robbie and Cecilia as an act of Atonement, and she does so in a way that seems unexpected for the filmgoer and shallow if you really reminisce. Atonement for herself maybe, but does anyone else, including the filmgoer, win in this deal?
Seen: February 3rd 2008
** Out of ****
I went to see Atonement solely for the purpose of being slightly better prepared for the Academy Awards, and as you can see from my rating, I did not particularly enjoy it. I did find the study of the impact a child (or someone with insufficient understanding) can have on a lifetime if taken to somewhat extreme levels quite fascinating, since I’ve always been an advocate for first understanding before acting (or at least I’ve tried to be).
Saoirse Ronan plays the role magnificently, the little girl seeing only parts of what really happened, and influencing things in such a way that 2 peoples’ lives are irrevocably changed, and not for the better.
These two people would be James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, who finds a romance blooming between them upon which both are reluctant to act, seeing that Robby (McAvoy) is the son of Cecilia’s (Knightly) housekeeper in a time when that sort of thing was frowned upon (has it really changed that much?). The slightly awkward times that they do get the chance to pursue their romance, little Briony (Ronan) witnesses from afar, adding her own imaginative colour to the picture that she doesn’t fully understand.
Briony continues to expose what she believes to be happening, and Robby is arrested and taken away. But some time later the reunite and share intimate time with each other after Briony has fixed (at least in part) what she has broken. And it is at this stage that the film’s title becomes apparent. Briony has devoted her life to reuniting Robbie and Cecilia as an act of Atonement, and she does so in a way that seems unexpected for the filmgoer and shallow if you really reminisce. Atonement for herself maybe, but does anyone else, including the filmgoer, win in this deal?
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