“Atonement”: Two figures stand by a fountain

Two figures stand by a fountain. A child witnesses. And so begins a series of misunderstood events that ultimately lead up to the devastation of three lives in director Joe Wright’s “Atonement,” based upon the bestselling novel by Ian McEwan. Wright and screenwriter Christopher Hampton do a marvelous job of depicting and remaining faithful to the film’s source, with few changes. Due to childish misunderstandings, it produces dire consequences in this sad, romantic drama whose title’s significance does not come to life until the last few minutes of the film.

The story begins at the Tallis estate in Southern England in the summer of 1935, 13-year old Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) witnesses an erotic exchange between her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), and the housekeeper’s educated son Robbie (James McAvoy), whom she also has a crush on, at the fountain. Her resentment grows. Later that evening, a terrible crime is committed and Briony tells the police it was Robbie. She witnesses him do it - or at least convinces herself that it was him - and thus sentences all of their fates because of her childish immaturity.

As a result, the rest of the film traces the impact of her false testimony, as Robbie goes to prison and later, war, and as Cecilia continues to love him. Cecilia, now a war nurse, has never forgiven Briony (played in later years by Romola Garai and then Vanessa Redgrave) for her false accusations and Briony now has to deal with the consequences of her crime. It is up until this point that the plot is moving along at a good pace but once Robbie goes off to war, the story bounces back and forth between France and England. It lacks the direct character interactions that give it its energy (i.e. interactions between Cecilia and Robbie, Cecilia and Briony, and Briony and Robbie) as seen in the first hour.

Keeping the pace of the film is the dissonant musical score, composed by Marianelli, which makes use of the typewriter as a percussive instrument and such is the opening of this film. Beautifully arranged, the effect of using the typewriter as part of the score is profound because it highlights the artistic nature of this film – writing as the creation of fiction (Briony uses her typewriter in creating her plays and stories). Though, at the end of this film, the viewer is also made aware of the power of writing as bridging fiction and reality as the older Briony uses her writing as a means of portraying the truth/reality in her eyes.

The cinematography and direction of the film also complement the duality between fiction and reality as some events in the film are shown twice. This is an effective approach because it helps the viewers to see both sides of the story and understand what Briony mistakenly believes is occurring. In addition, there are some quite remarkable camera shots, notably the scene on the beaches in Dunkirk as the viewer is transported into the desperation and hellish nature of war.

The potential was there for this to be a memorable romantic epic because of the stunning cinematography, music, and cast, but because of the pace, it just never seems to get there completely. Overall, this film is beautifully constructed and performed but the ending is a disappointment because the significance of the title is only now addressed and soon forgotten once the viewer leaves the darkened theater.