Atonement: A Late Review by Liz

So as many of you might already know, the film Atonement recently won Best Drama at the Golden Globes, and, in my opinion, it is a well-deserved award. It is spectacularly directed by Joe Wright, who masterfully brings Ian McEwan’s novel to the screen (screenplay by Christopher Hampton). The film stars Keira Knightly as Cecilia Tallis, a rich girl who has fallen in love with James McAvoy’s character, Robbie Turner, who works for her family on their estate and who returns her feelings. The plot of the film is sparked by an incident that Cecilia’s thirteen-year-old sister Briony (wonderfully played by Saoirse Ronan) witnesses, and does not understand. As a result, Robbie and Cecilia are separated, both by WWII and accusations by Briony against Robbie.

I don’t want to give too much away, but the film is a sweeping drama and artfully done. It has a particularly skillful tracking shot of the beach at Dunkirk. It is both wonderful to watch (from the standpoint of filmmaking) and devastating from the point of the audience; the director shows the true chaos and tragedy of war, as exemplified by Dunkirk. The ending is surprising, but, I felt, fitting for the film; the story is not truly that of Cecilia’s and Robbie’s, but that of Briony - who must live with the knowledge of what she has done.   

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