Atonement (2007)

Date: 02/02/08
AMC Grapevine Mills
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0783233/

Atonement.

Film of the year?

     Atonement was a film I was definitely not expecting; its Academy Award nominations along with it's glowing praise from various circles was the main reason I decided to see the film, which definitely seemed like it was going to be your run-of-the-mill-period-piece-chick-flick. Luckily, my fears were completely unsubstantiated as the film turned out to be one of remarkable clarity, vision, and beauty.
     The film first sucks you with it's commendable cinematography. Director Joe Wright and DP Seamus McGarvey beautifully captured some incredible settings in ways that perfectly accentuate the films undertones and themes. This imagery is enhanced significantly by the editing, which also really sucked me into the film. Putting on hold some of the more obvious examples of the editing, one can't help but admire the pacing of the film. The film flows at a consistent pace, one which may not please modern audiences with short attention spans but perfectly serves the film. The film at no point feels boring, slow, or overlong, instead finding that perfect groove films so rarely find anymore between keeping us engrossed in the plot, keeping us entertained, and giving us time to process what we're seeing. Moving past the pacing, the editing also shines with some distinct editing choices that significantly affect the film. Take for example, the scene with Cecilia and Robbie at the fountain that sets the plot into motion. We first see the entire scene silently through the eyes of young Briony, watched through the window. The silence keeps both Briony and the audience guessing as to what's actually happening, but it becomes apparent rather quickly that Briony is extremely hurt by what she's seeing, even though she doesn't fully understand it. Immediately following Briony's viewing of the events, we see the exact same scene (transitioned into wonderfully with a bee and a closing window) again, but from the perspective of Cecilia and Robbie. By showing us the exact same scene again, just from a different perspective, it not only completely changes the scene in the audiences eye but also emphasizes the importance of the scene, which turns out to be one of the most pivotal scenes in the film. Tight editing like this serves to not only enhance viewers understanding of the events in the film but to also add another layer of depth to both the technical aspects of the filmmaking as well as the intricacies of the plot and characters.
     Moving past the imagery and editing, one can't help but focus on the rather tragic story that unfolds. I found yet another one of the films greatest strengths to be how well the story defied what we've come to describe as normal conventions to tell the story it wanted to tell, in the way it wanted to tell it. I found the finale to be admirable as well, choosing not to take the story book route that one is expecting to see but instead ending with a meaningful look into the ideas of storytelling, truth, nature, guilt, life, and love. To call the ending beautiful would be a meiotic statement of highest (or lowest, I suppose) order. To me, the ending challenged conventional notions of storytelling by taking a different route to help express its core themes and sentiments. Some may call it a deception, which it is to slight degree, but given the rest of the film I thought the conclusion fell into place beautifully.
     With tight editing, beautiful imagery, fairly strong performances, a haunting score, and a tragically beautiful story, Atonement is one of the better films I've seen in sometime. Despite my initial reservations, I walked out of the theatre nothing short of moved and if only for that reason, the cast and crew deserve as much praise as they can garner.
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     So, given the films phenomenal use of technique and story should it win best picture? I think the answer is: who really cares? I mean really? While the title may add some prestige and boost short term box office receipts for the film, it by no means is an indicator of how good or bad a film is. Crash won for best picture in 2004. Raging Bull lost best picture in 1980, I think that says everything you'll ever need to know about the Academy Awards.