The setup of director Joe Wright’s Atonement is a struggling one to get through. We are to focus on a group of rich white people in 1930s England as they complain about their boring lives. It’s hard to really hard to have any sort of connection with any of these kids. Briony (Saoirse Ronan) is a curious little 13-year-old girl trying to put on a play with her two young cousins, but their attention is hard to keep. Cecilia (Keira Knightley) bumbles about the enormous property they live on with Robbie (James McAvoy), who just so happens to be the son this family’s housekeeper. The two have obvious feelings for each other but can’t be open with it as they are classes apart.
That’s only one half of the conflict though. Little Briony becomes a bit jealous of their flirtatious relationship after she witnesses Cecilia practically undresses in front of Robbie before jumping into a fountain. The context of this incident is unknown to her, as she saw it happen through her window, and the two were pretty far from it. This moment sticks in her mind. Later, Robbie gives Briony a letter to pass on to Cecilia that was supposed to be a heartfelt love opus, but instead ended up being an earlier draft. And this draft contains the dreaded c-word.
Young Briony is confused, then outraged, by this dastardly word. So when a crime of passion is committed against her older cousin, she tells the authorities that Robbie did it. So he is sent to jail for a few years. Luckily for him however, he is offered the alternative of joining the service and fight the war, instead of rotting in jail. He graciously accepts.
This brief synopsis of events takes an hour to unfold. Although the film has a lot going for it, in terms of craft (the cinematography is stunning), the exposition out stays its welcome. Based on the novel of the same name by Ian McEwan, it’s hard to think that the set-up there was so tedious. The two mediums are drastically different of course, so the novel would no doubt have a lot more interesting descriptors to keep you engaged. The first half of this film just isn’t that strong. Once Robbie finally makes his way to the service, the film finally gets rolling.
Fans of the original source material will definitely know what to expect here. The rest of us, who can’t seem to connect to any of these characters (let alone care about them), can only marvel at the technical aspects of the film. Seamus McGarvey’s photography is simply stunning and the locales are great to look at. Knightley’s performance is one we’ve seen her do all too often, every time she’s in a period piece in fact. Atonement just ends up being your average romance epic involving characters that hard to care about or connect with.
