As a story outlining the awful things that happen when we bear false witness, Atonement is brilliant. As a medium to giving Ian McEwan's masterful novel a visual context, Atonement is also brilliant. What I found most interesting about the film, however, is its 'craft'. Atonement is an over-directed film. Every scene is so competent and perfect; every 't' crossed, every 'i' dotted. And while that makes for a velvety, rich, beautiful movie, it also hinders its ability to come across as real. And that's where Atonement ultimately fails. Directed by Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley as Celia and James McAvoy as her doomed lover, Robbie, Atonement plays like a good Masterpiece Theatre drama. Kudos to Christopher Hampton (Quiet American, Total Eclipse) for his excellent work taking a complex novel to a screenplay and to Dario Marionelli for his perfect original score.
For giving us an example of how to transition a novel from page to screen and for reinventing the Merchant-Ivory genre, my rating 7 out of 10.
1 comment:
Atonement looked and felt a lot like Pride and Prejudice... come to think of it, both movies have the same director, leading lady, both are based on books and both take place in England
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