Film, like every art medium, has the power to evoke emotions from all of us. It also has the responsibility of telling a story. A story that most of the time is not ours, that is important for the understanding of other people that live with us.
Stories in film generally try to get the best from our hearts. It tries to give us a lesson via those emotions that are generated by the decisions of some of the characters in the story. Consequences of actions, most of the time, give us a great story because, as humans, we are making decisions every day until we die. Unlike other living beings on this planet, humans act on thought rather than on instinct. This makes decision-making a difficult task, because we know that whatever we do will have consequences to our life and of others.
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Atonement (2007), based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Ian McEwan, is one of the many films that deal with this problematic element. Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy) are from opposite worlds, yet they live in the same home. With time, they fall for each other. But their love is interrupted by the actions of Briony (Saoirse Ronan), Cecilia’s precocious 13 years old sister, who confuses reality with the wild imagination of the writer inside her.
Her actions created a chain of events from which Cecilia and Robbie are led to a difficult path. Where they can’t enjoy the love they had for each other. It’s more infuriating and frustrating to us when we learn that Briony’s actions were motivated rather in jealousy than the belief that she was doing the right thing.
I remember crying the first time I watched this film. I still do every time I watch it, to be honest. Romances always get me, but this one was a little different than the ordinary romances we watch in film. Atonement is a story within a story and you don’t realize this happened before. I was crying because, for me at least, it was the realization that such a small action as the one Briony did in her teens could cause so much damage in the lives of many people. Atonement was one of the first films that made me understand the power of a lie, especially when rooted in bad faith.
The narrative of this film is good, in part thanks to a great source material, but even then a script is never easy to adapt. I think one of the reasons it works so well is because the story is told in a linear order with few uses of flashbacks. But the ones used are very important to better understand the motivations of some characters. It is also a story easy to follow, in part because it only focuses in three main characters: Cecilia, Robbie, and Briony.
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There are some scenes that I thought were unnecessary, but I think this has to do more with a directional decision than a script one. Nevertheless, the story of Atonement works by itself and that’s important because it gives the director an easy path to decide which technical aspects can help to tell it cinematographically and make it unique to this medium.
One of those technical aspects is the musical score, one of my favorites from the 2000s. I can still hear the sound of the typewriter following the steps of young Briony Tallis in the intro scene to this film. It is haunting at times, melancholic, and exciting too. One of the best decisions any filmmaker can do is to know when to stop the score, when to give that necessary silence.
There are at least two scenes that do this and it’s marvelous because it feels like the music is as shocked as you while watching a certain reveal. The music, in other words, is a character by itself. Dario Marianelli, deservedly so, won big that year, including an Academy Award for Best Music (Original Score) at the 80th Ceremony.
Another aspect as important as the score was the camera work done by cinematographer Seamus McGarvey. From the first second, Atonement looks beautiful, but that is only touching the surface. The camera movement is outstanding, and we can see that in almost every sequence of the movie. In particular, and I think this is what you have all waiting for, the now famous long take at Dunkirk’s beach. This scene is almost 6 minutes long, but it’s excellent.
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It’s even more extraordinary when you learn that it had to be done in one take, because they couldn’t afford to make it multiple times. An example of great teamwork, the cast, the extras, the director, the DP, and the rest of the crew made all this work to give us one of the best long takes of the last 20 years. Much of the credit goes to McGarvey, but also to Joe Wright (the director), for the amazing blocking he gave to his cast and crew so the scene could be perfectly executed.
It’s also fair to mention the production design of Atonement. The work done in that Dunkirk scene is stupendous. But it also is in the Tallis manor, in the hospital where Briony worked, and the underrated job they did in the restaurant scene in the middle of the film. The costumes are really good too, particularly the green dress Cecilia uses in a key-scene of the movie.
Acting-wise the cast shines. Saoirse Ronan scored an Oscar nomination in Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the young Briony Tallis. This began a career of accolades and great work, foreshadowing the great future Hanna and Lady Bird would have.
James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Juno Temple, and Benedict Cumberbatch are good too, but to me the main reason this movie has the emotional impact it has is thanks to the cameo done by Vanessa Redgrave. She’s the reason I cry every time, and it shows you the power of perfect delivery. It’s also a reminder of how fortunate we are of having such a high-caliber of an actress in our lifetime. Just wonderful.
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To think Atonement is only about the Tallis sisters and Robbie is fair, but if you ask me, it’s more than that. Take the Dunkirk’s beach scene for example: why do we need it? Another scene which is key to me is one before the Dunkirk one, where Robbie founds (or imagines?) a bunch of children corpses abandoned at a field. Why these scenes appear in a movie that’s mainly about these three characters? Besides the historical value and to give it a sense of “hey, we’re at war”, I think Wright wanted us to reflect on the consequences of our actions.
Yes, we know the consequences of Briony’s actions, but that’s unique to her story. What about mankind in general? What are the consequences of war, violence, and power? Here they are. Since you are expecting to watch a romantic tale, to hide these scenes and shock you with them so you can open your eyes and say “whoa”, that’s the real genius of Wright. He has never topped it since, but I’m very grateful he took his time to show us the importance of thinking before we act.
