No Need To Atone

One of the biggest hits of last year Atonement is raking in the awards and is out on DVD this week.

Joe Wright’s beautiful film version of the best-selling novel by Ian McEwan is an absolute must-see. If you haven’t seen it yet then firstly, why not? And secondly, get it to find out what all the fuss is about. If you have seen it, watch it again.

Although there is a lot to be said for the cinema, the small screen version is almost as potent. The performances of Knightley, McAvoy and best of all 13-year-old Ronan are still riveting and the story loses none of the impact.

Beginning on a hot summer’s day we see an exchange between Cecilia (Knightley) and Robbie (McAvoy) which ends in Cecilia stripping off and diving into the fountain. After witnessing this from her window Cecilia’s younger sister Briony assumes something untoward is happening to her sister at the hands of Robbie. An overactive imagination, naivity and an element of wickedness lead Briony to make some unfounded accusations against Robbie. Briony’s lie has devastating consequences and changes the course of all of their lives.

The first part of this film is five star perfection. Shooting the same scene through different perspectives shows just how different a situation can look through different eyes and how easy it is to misconstrue. The young Briony is phenomenal as a naïve but cunning child played to absolute perfection by Saoirse Ronan. The blossoming relationship between charming Robbie and cold Cecilia is also wonderfully brought to life by McAvoy and Knightley.

The second half of the film when Robbie is at war, Cecilia is a bitter, single nurse and Briony is a guilt-ridden nurse in training is also engaging, well acted and beautifully shot but it doesn’t have the spark of that first half. It also feels like at the end the emotional kick could be more powerful than it is.

Nevertheless, Atonement is a beautiful film which deserves all the praise and nominations that are being thrown its way.