Movie Review: Atonement - Santa Clara Weekly

Esoteric, Eerie, Aesthetic, Existential, out of focus. These are all terms I don’t like to use when reviewing a film. They will not be in the current review. But if you would like to insert them for your own use from time to time, I aim to please.

Atonement is a 2007 Oscar nominated film that is stretched out longer than the Oscar Meyer Weiner Wagon. It is an English period piece. A historical drama. Of immense beauty and importance according to the ads.

Keira Knightly of The Pirates of the Caribbean series stars as an English woman. I have been concerned over her health. In the “Pirates” movies she only appears to weigh about 35 pounds. Well good news is at hand. She has ballooned up to 38 pounds and looks almost chunky.

In Atonement she is of a well to do family. Her little sister is the real center of the story. She is 13 and likes to write plays.

Thirty five minutes into the film she witnesses some unspeakable shenanigans on the estate. She lies about what she has seen. This causes KK’s boyfriend played by James McAvoy all kinds of problems. He goes off to jail. This all takes place in 1935.

The story jumps forward to 1940 and JM is out of jail and fighting the Germans in France. He is part of the big evacuation of Dunkirk in May of 1940. The Dunkirk scene is the best scene in Atonement. There is one take where JM and two buddies arrive at the beach and in one long remarkable continuous shot we see the madness and chaos that is occurring.

Unfortunately the rest of the film cannot live up to this one terrific moment. Parts of the film are shown from different perspectives causing not a little confusion as to what is going on. Unfortunately for much of Atonement nothing is going on at all. Many in the theater heaved sighs to say “get on with it”. Due to the obligations of this review I was forced to stay awake. The highly caffeinated 84 ounce coke helped.

Great costumes and sets are evident. Everyone tries hard to make the two hour plus movie interesting. A savvy editor could have cut 50 minutes and probably succeeded.

Lots of literary tricks are on hand including the music which combines a lot of solo piano and typewriting sound effects. If Atonement wins for Best Picture all I can say is that those who nominated it probably didn’t get to see any other films released all year long.

Rated 2.3 out of 4 reasons to try and guess when Vanessa Redgrave will show up on screen.