Thank the Movie Gods for Atonement, the only "Oscar movie" this season that actually delivers. The fall has been rife with misfires, both big (Michael Clayton, Juno) and small (No Country for Old Men, American Gangster). The final three months of the year usually result in many of my favorite movies of the year, but that has not been the case for 2007. Which makes the blissfully absorbing Atonement all the more satisfying.Based on the novel by Ian McEwan, Atonement is not the film you might expect based on the trailers. Young Briony (Saoirse Ronan) is a child with a strong imagination, and she often puts that imagination to good use by writing stories. When she catches a glimpse of her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and the son of the family housekeeper, Robbie (James McAvoy), engaged in something beyond her understanding, it sets off a chain of events that ultimately destroy all three lives. The film, which begins in 1935, follows Briony, Cecilia, and Robbie through WWII, showing us how the repercussions of a single act have shattering and everlasting effects.
Part of what makes Atonement such a resonating piece of art is that it really works to examine and develop certain themes throughout the narrative. On the surface, one could easily enjoy this as a tragic love story. The fact that Keira Knightley and James McAvoy are billed as the leads make it appear as though it is their story. Yet it is young (and not so young) Briony that drives the themes, and it is her character above all others that is central to this film. Briony comes to realize that the mistake she made as a child has had horrible repercussions, and the way in which she struggles to come to grips with that fact makes us wonder if she has truly atoned for her misdeed. I really loved the question the film raises of whether or not art can serve as that atonement, or if it is simply a way of making yourself feel better about what you've done. It's surprisingly deep stuff.
But if you aren't interested in examining the film on that level, the tragic love story is very gripping. Most films ask us to believe that two people can fall in love in a short time. Atonement wisely sidesteps that by opening on the day that Robbie and Cecilia finally consummate their attraction after years of longing for one another. When Robbie is taken away to prison and then war, we can believe that these two people would go to such great lengths to find each other. The development of their love story was so well done that I was greatly affected by the final minutes of the film when we discover how they are reunited and under what circumstances. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the masterful score done by Dario Marianelli. The way in which he uses the sound of a typewriter to underscore the theme of the movie is brilliant, and it gives the film a sense of power and urgency that would simply not be there without the score.
I was so completely won over by Atonement that I am a bit ashamed to admit I was very cynical about it before I saw it. It looked like Oscar bait more than anything else, and I generally hate movies made just to win Oscars. They always feel so hollow and soulless. That is not Atonement at all. Atonement is about something. It demands to be considered as more than just an awards film, but as a film honestly trying to examine the idea of atoning for ones sins, and whether or not it is ever even possible. It's simply brilliant.
