Atonement was recommended to me by my acting teacher and my first impression after watching the movie was this has to be one of the best movies of all time! The movie won the BAFTA Award for the best picture and is nominated in the same category(and others) at the Oscars… I will be rooting for it.
Based on a Booker prize nominated novel by the same name, Atonement tells the love story between Cecilia Tallis(Keira Knightley) and Robbie Turner(James McAvoy) after Robbie is wrongly accused of a crime by Cecilia’s sister Briony Tallis(Saoirse Ronan). The event destroys the budding romance between the two and changes the lives of those involved.
There is hardly anything flawed in the movie. Acting is possibly the best we saw all of last year… explains why Keira is nominated for the Best Actress statute. Screenplay is simply perfect! The visuals and unfolding of scenes is an artist’s dream… Some of the scenes just left me spellbound! The real winner is how the story is told and how it ends!
In particular I loved a few scenes…
The scene where Cecilia meets Robbie after three and half years is emotional beyond words. I had a few drops of tears in my eyes by the end of the scene. The beauty of the scene lied in where it was done, in this case it was a busy restaurant. The first few seconds after they see each other, the body language was just too magical that the scene would have worked even in a silent movie. Cecilia’s composure and posture right thru the scene defined its power and the very fact that it was Robbie that broke down at the end was perfect.
That scene is the best scene I have ever seen on celluloid.
Visually beautiful scenes… The scene where Robbie reaches the beach to find it flooded with troops is beautifully done. The chorus song midway thru the scene was shot brilliantly in a single take and the smoothness is just magical.
The scene where Briony walks down the hospital wing as the lights above her switch on one by one is another beautifully executed scene.
Other than those the scenes with the typewriter and the method of switching between what was seen and what happened is excellent.
The only downside of the movie is that its a bit slow. If you loved the English Patient you have to watch this movie… If you want to watch a good movie this one is definitely the right choice