Atonement

Rarely a movie based on a book can shine above its source material, make you feel fully satisfied and maybe even open your eyes to one or two things you have not thought about reading the book. Atonement is one of such rarity. It is based on the same name novel by British author Ian McEwan. McEwan is a giant in contemporary British literature. His 1998 novel Amsterdam was awarded the British Booker Prize, sort of the equivalent of Pulitzer Prize for fiction in our country. Atonement was published a few years later and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Time Magazine named it the best novel of 2002. His subsequent two novels have all been highly regarded by critics and the later one, On Chesil Beach, was once again shortlisted for Book Prize. McEwan has become a perennial Booker favorite whenever he finishes a novel.

In movie history, there are plenty of incidents in which good books are ruined on screen. For this movie, I had the same kind of doubt before walking into the theater. I was really persuaded by the director’s name, Joe Wright, to give this movie a try. Before Atonement, Wright had only made one other feature-length movie, Pride & Prejudice. The classic Jane Austen novel has been turned into countless films and TV series. Many of them are mediocre and some are excellent. It seemed foolhardy to try another remake, but what a remake it was. Wright completely made Pride & Prejudice feel fresh and new by using most young unknown actors who were close to age of Austen’s characters. He also conveyed the 1800 English life and countryside scenery beautifully on screen and made that movie artful and pretty to watch.

Now once again, working with a different screenwriter, Christopher Hampton, he captures the heart and soul of a great book that, at first glance, seems impossible to be adapted on screen. There are four parts in the book. Part one happens on a hot summer day of 1935 at a sprawling country estate. This is the fateful day that sets the wheels in motion for all later events. Briony is a precocious 13-year old. From her room window, she witnesses an incident involving her older sister Cecelia (played by Keira Knightly) and gardener Robbie (played by James McAvoy) near the fountain in her family estate. Robbie is the son of the family’s cook. Because of his brilliance, Briony’s father has supported his education all the way through Cambridge and now plans to support him through medical school. He works for the family during the summer. Later, Briony opens a letter written by Robbie to Cecelia which accidentally contains a page that shows explicitly his feelings toward Cecelia. Right before dinner, Briony also sees Robbie and Cecelia in compromised positions in the family library. All these events prompt Briony to make a mistake of her lifetime and wrongly accuse Robbie of a crime he does not commit. It exposes the hypocrisy of aristocratic British upper class – they feel generous and liberal of themselves to support a lower class member for their education, but deep down, they still consider them far below themselves and therefore capable of hideous crimes. Because of Briony’s accusation, Robbie is put in jail and Cecelia is alienated from her family. Part two fast forwards to 1940. It is Robbie’s journey in France as a British army private during the Dunkirk evacuation. It interweaves with Robbie’s flashback to the past. Part three is about Briony as a nurse trainee in London right around the same time. She lives under a heavy guilt and gets to experience firsthand the horror of the war. Part four is contemporary London and ties up all the loose ends in the book.

Hampton stays fairly faithful to the first three parts of the book, but differs dramatically in the last part in order to deliver the surprising twist on screen. There are no dramatic actions in the book, so the pacing of the movie may be too slow for American audience used to fast moving plot lines.

Once again, Wright gets it just right with that upper-class stuffy and self-absolving atmosphere at the beginning of the movie. Briony herself is a product of that upper-class upbringing. She is educated to be far more knowledgeable than she can handle with her meager real-life experiences. A tragedy is bound to happen when a precocious kid knows no boundaries about imagination and reality. Hampton shrewdly cuts off the father figure from the film version and the mother only shows up for a few very short scenes, but we get a good sense about what kind of household Briony lives in.

In the 1935 part of the movie, perspective is everything, so Hampton and Wright designs a clever way to visualize different perspectives. We frequently see one event first from Briony’s point of view and then quickly Wright cuts to the same event again, but this time we are seeing it from the perspective of people really involved. When Robbie is agonizing over his apology letter, Wright puts Cecelia in an equally unsure state. The editing goes back and forth between these two characters: Robbie working furiously at his typewriter and Cecelia trying to choose what dress to wear for the party. Their emotions are subtly in sync. Later when Robbie was in France, he accidentally walks into a movie room where soldiers are watching a French film starring great actors Jean Gabin and Michele Morgan. Their sensuous kiss reminds the audiences of Robbie and Cecelia’s kiss years ago as well forms a sharp contrast with Robbie’s current lonely figure.

Jacqueline Durran’s costume design is breathtaking. It reflects that time period in London and the exquisiteness may well start a new fashion nostalgia trend. The green dress Knightly wears to the party recalls old Holly wood glamour and is a simple elegance that can stand side by side with Audrey Hepburn’s famous dress in Sabrina.

It is also quite a treat to have many quiet moments in this movie without the constant intrusion of music. The sound designers and mixers selectively amplify certain nature sound such as bees, typewriter, etc. When Briony sits in a London train on her way back from her cousin’s wedding, the clacking sounds of the train is almost synonymous to the striking typewriter key. We can imagine that in Briony’s mind, she may be furiously writing the next chapter of her book or the exonerating letter to the authority. The music only slowly creeps in when necessary and never feels overwhelming here.

The cinematography is also quite spectacular in this film. In the first half of the movie, it is bright and has all the hopefulness in that lighting. Of course, British countryside always looks beautiful. Later during the Dunkirk evacuation, it becomes gloomy and dark. There have been many talks about the famous almost 5-minute long shot through the Dunkirk beach. Because of the budget limit, Wright had to shoot that scene in one day and he did a good job recreating the despair on that beach. However, I think all the talk about that shot has spoiled it for me because it simply doesn’t live up to my extremely high expectations. Also I guess because of the limited budget, there are no German airplanes seen in the evacuation except the shadows of three planes in shallow water when Bobby and his two buddies walk toward the beach. The treacherous German plane is one of the greatest menaces mentioned in the book during the evacuation. By cutting them out of the picture, it reduces the dire situation British soldiers are facing at the time. McEwan’s book is not only a great romance, but also an interesting historical read. For us Americans, Normandy may be our chief knowledge about the European theater in World War II; but to British, Dunkirk evacuation is an important historical event. It was a major retreat on a large scale and may have saved the war by preserving as many British military resources as possible.

I have also experienced some new enlightenment while watching this movie. When Briony talks to a delirious French soldier at his death bed, he thinks she is his lover and dies knowing that she loves him. Of course, it shows the horror of war, but this little incident may also serve to deepen Briony’s guilt. Her action of years earlier has denied the happiness between Cecelia and Robbie, but during the war it has further damage and complications.

There are some minor flaws in the movie such as revealing the face of true perpetrator of the crime, to me, seems to be quite unnecessary. I think most adult audiences pretty early on already know who may be the guilty party. Still those flaws are few and minor.

The dramatic change in last part of the book is a clever solution to revealing the twist in the movie. The final sequence of the movie, in fact, is a far more superior ending than the one in the book. Seeing Robbie and Cecelia frolic near the cabin that they never get to use during the war is the most romantic way for this sweeping love story.

The acting in this movie is first-rate and frankly surprised me. Knightly won an Oscan nomination for her performance in Wright’s last movie Pride & Prejudice. It was a solid performance, but still I considered it as a lark. I guess I have been an art house snob against her because of her involvement in such blatant blockbuster series Pirates of the Caribbean, but I have underestimated her acting ability. She is good, super good. At a tender young age of 22, she exudes such emotion that shines through on screen. Both she and McAvoy are way too good looking for the roles they play, but good looks are not crime in movie business, lack of acting ability is. In this movie, no crime is committed by these two stars. Their scenes together are electrified and full of chemistry in the beginning; sad and full of tenderness in the second half. McAvoy strikes me as an arrogant hotshot in The Last King of Scotland, so I was truly touched by his vulnerability shown in this movie. When he and Knightly meet in the café years later, his hand seems to slightly tremble under her gentle touch and tears well up right away in his eyes. It looks and feels so natural to see this handsome man break down.

2007 is a great year for movies – there are great small independent features, resurgence of movie musicals and some wonderful adaptations of great works. I hope the audience can embrace the theme of love and sin in this movie. Some wrongs may never be able to be righted, but the journey to forever atonement is a story worth telling and watching.