Atonement

[zita]

Has anyone seen the film yet?
Well, I watched it yesterday with mingled feelings. The story is interesting: a 13 years old girl -with her imagination running wild -
tears a couple apart, before their love would really begin. Growing up she is carrying the weight of her lie , understanding she ruined lifes with it - but it's too late to put it right. All the time I was waiting for the lovers' chance to meet - but there's no happy ending. It's war around and of course less prospect for happiness. Reminds me of "The English Patient".
The best thing in the movie is James McAvoy (Robbie)-his performance is perfect. Keira Knightley (Cecilia) got less chances to act - or maybe I payed too much attention to her extreme
thinnes...There are 3 actresses as Briony at the different ages, Saoirse Ronan - the 13 years old Briony- is really great in this role.
I loved the music! Very interesting as the type writer's sound turns into music - causes feeling of tension.
I expected more - but it's worth watching for Mr. McAvoy.(My only experience was Tumnus, the faun in Narnia :

Hungarian title:Vágy és vezeklés (Desire and atonement)

[Virgil Reality]

I agree with you for the most part - though I found that typewriter music a bit pretentious and there was one bit where it sounded like a rp off of one of the themes from "Doctor Zhivago"

Agree that James McAvoy was amazing and also the little girl - not even going to try to spell her name let alone say it. An outstanding young actress on the rise. I felt a bit sorry for Romola Garai. First Keira Knightley snayches the Lizzie role in Pride and Prejudice from under her nose and then she gets to share a flm with her - looking decidedly unglamorous.

My main problem with the film (but also in the book which I read a couple of years ago before they were making a movie) was that everyone believed this young girl when they knew she was a highly imaginative and very naive child. They arresting him that night - not much of an enquiry. But maybe in those times - and she was the upper class one and therefore more believable.

Main reason for expecting "more" is that that with all those stars in the cast and all the publicity it got with predictions of Oscars etc, I expected something other than the usual scenic Brit costume drama.

Keira Knightley always seems to me like she's trying too hard. You can usually see the wheels turning when she's expected to do more than just look gorgeous. I know others will disagree. She certainly got the Cecilia brittleness down but I personally didn't ever engage ith her character and she didn't make care much about the love relationship

[Gg]

I saw Atonement before the Oscar nominations, but I wasn't surprised. It was a departure for Keira Knightley, already a previous nominee, and James McAvoy -- I mean, duh. I think it will be "Briony" that takes it home though. I'm sure with that cast, a healthy campaign was behind nominations -- though you may notice not a one for SAG...

The author (book) who I should remember and just can't think of at the moment, was interviewed on NPR and he was asked about process and very much emphasized that the writing, for him, is all about the WORDS -- the language, the dialogue -- (not a cinematic writer) and it seems to me that with that outlook, this little girls "words" of accusation, accompanied by his, HELLO, highly incriminating letter of polarizing words (THAT word, particularly -- which I'd love to see what the proboards obscenity police would do with if I tried to write it here), would have been enough to immediately apprehend a man of lower class.

I kind of liked that the ambiguity of Cecilia's ice-princess remained even as they consumate their,...love,...lust? Was she pretrified at being exposed for her carnal thoughts about and underling or truly devestated that he was in serious trouble, that they would be seperated -- was it guilt. I liked that ambiguity, knowing that the history from that point was revisionary and romanticized. I was also happy with the dynamic set up -- "rescue me Robbie" as we see this little girl discovering her pre-teen romantic sexuality, and then having this devastating reaction to witnessing their love realized, through the letter and the act itself -- its nearly gothic -- "I saw something nasty in the woodshed" kind of stuff. Is she jealous, is she frightened, is she blatantly just, a pregnant dog -- her intentions playing out so multi-layered. THAT word in his mistaken letter he askes her to deliver. She is jealous, she reads it and finds -- THAT word -- so violent to a child -- does she then truly see him as an agressor? And then of course the true rapist of the night finding glorious immunity by marrying his victim. Class wars/sexual politics -- almost pale the War at hand.

I agree with you on Romola -- love her!! But I would bet that with Keira's success, she would hardly avoid working with her, as working with her would mean, hopefully, audience...

But I think you're right about having your expectations before hand. I kept bringing a friend of mine to these private previews of adaptations of books she'd read and she'd just burst out ("OH COME ON!!!!") because something was different... She sticks her fingers in her ears and closes her eyes (my friends have all traded humor and art for whatever maturity they may have possessed) when the previews come on because she really feels like things get ruined by expectation. If you tell her "this book is great" she'll probably hate it -- doesn't read jacket covers. I think it is a real challenge to look at film if you love the literature beforehand.

[jessyjellybean]

my friend Abby described this film as the most misrable rotten thing shes ever see.I could only cope with an hour of it then went to bed