With theaters still not operating, for the most part, many of us are looking to streaming services to watch movies, new and not so new. With this category on this blog, I will explore the films I believe are the absolute best of the 21st Century so far.
Atonement
2007
Four stars
Directed by
Joe Wright (based on the novel by Ian McEwan)
Stars: James
McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saiorse Ronan, Ramona Gurai, Benedict Cumberbatch,
Brenda Blethyn.
I recently asked my cinephile friends what films inspired their most visceral reactions. And I received some great answers like “Jaws,” “Blue Velvet,” “Schindler’s List,” “The Elephant Man” and “Serpico.” I was confronted with providing a few selections of my own. And while “Mulholland Drive” is certainly right at the top of my list, no matter how many times I watch it, “Atonement” inspires the same reaction every time I watch it: discomfort and heartbreak.
Discomfort
because the one event that changes three lives forever revolves around the rape
of a young woman. In between the two World Wars, 13-year-old Briony Tallis
(Saiorse Ronan) witnesses two sexual acts she doesn’t understand. She believes
one act between her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and Robbie Turner (James
McAvoy), the son of the Tallis’ family housekeeper, was something other than what it was: romance and a budding love affair. We can see how a young girl could
misinterpret what she saw, especially since Briony had a crush on Robbie
herself. And it doesn’t help that Briony intercepts a letter from Robbie to
Cecilia, reads it, and completely misinterprets it.
What Briony
reports to her parents and, ultimately the police, has devastating consequences
for Cecilia, Robbie, and Briony herself. Robbie is taken away by police the night
of the event and ultimately lands in prison.
Fast forward
four years and we find Robbie in the Army, hiding in France after a German
Panzer attack separates him and two fellow soldiers from their unit. We learn
that his time in prison was horrific and that he was given the chance to serve
his time in prison, or go to war.
Meanwhile
Cecilia has abandoned her family and has gone to work as a nurse in London.
Upon reaching the age of 18, Briony, too has become a nurse. But her true
passion is writing. During the long nights in the hospital, she often retreats
to a secluded room to work on her fiction.
What Joe
Wright does so masterfully is change the cinematography to reflect the
fortunes of the three main characters. In the early part of the film which
takes place at the Tallis estate, everything is lush and lavish. The property
is exquisitely manicured and the rest of the estate is opulent.
Following
Robbie being taken away by police, the entire look of the film changes
significantly. The colors are more drab. Instead of accentuating each scene
with bright colors, every shot is a mixture of brown, black and grey. The walls
of each interior look as though they have been stained with years of nictotine.
And yes, it was set during World War ll. But director Wright uses that look to
exemplify how much has changed for the three.
In one
scene, as Robbie is away on leave, he manages to spend a few minutes with
Cecilia in London. The film works back to a time before Robbie and his unit
come under Panzer attack. The encounter between the two is strained at first
and it makes sense why. Four years have passed and Robbie feels a sense of
guilt for what has transpired though he should not. But it doesn’t take long
for the two to admit that their love is as strong as ever. Robbie gets back to
his unit and back to combat.
Then the
film fast forwards to Robbie and his two mates arriving in Dunkirk, where
300,000 troops are awaiting transport back to England. He’s been hurt but we
sense that his love for Cecilia and the prospect of more time together when he
next goes on leave, press him to move on.
The pivotal
scene takes place when Robbie and Cecilia have a little time together while she
is off from the hospital and he’s on a second leave. We aren’t sure where in the timeline
of the plot this is supposed to be and there is a reason why revealed at the
end. Briony, ridden with guilt over the turn of events she set in motion, sets
out to see her sister to make amends. The encounter is as awkward as you can
possibly imagine considering everyone’s life is vastly different from what they
expected only a few short years prior. Upon seeing Briony, Robbie is
understandably furious. And it is easy to take his side. What we need to
remember is that Briony was a child when the incident happened. And Wright
ensures that we see that all are affected terribly. Despite Robbie’s protests
that Briony should have known the difference between right and wrong, we cannot
place blame solely on a 13 year-old child who is having trouble navigating her
own life. Robbie and Cecilia instruct Briony on what she can do to make things
right.
After that
encounter among the three main characters, the film takes an abrupt turn. But
it’s a beautiful one. We cut to decades later when Briony is giving a television
interview. She announces that her latest novel is her last. Uncoincidentally,
this last novel is, in part, an autobiographical one about the events when she was 13.
She tells the interviewer it is her last novel because she suffers from
vascular dementia, which will rob her of memory and brain function.
But the beauty in this scene is older Briony (Vanessa Redgrave) tells the story behind her new novel (entitled Atonement) and why she tackled such a difficult subject. Briony takes a big embellishment to the end of the story, what she calls a "final act of kindness." And even though it is a rather abrupt turn of events, it isn't jarring. It isn't a case of deus ex machina. And for all of you romantics out there, this final turn of events may just break your heart.
Wright has Redgrave talk directly to the camera to reveal the details of her final book. We understand that someone who is suffering from a condition like hers could easily pass her days away with memories disappearing and thus erase any feelings of responsibility. But she chooses to do something in her last weeks or months of complete lucidity. It may not satisfy all audiences, but it is something. And it is a gesture that carries weight, at least to those who are artists.
In that last
scene, Briony speaks of giving the readers of her last novel a bit of hope.
That is the reason for her only supposed embellishment. And even though we as
viewers of this film know the circumstances behind her choices, we are still
buoyed by her decisions. We can criticize how this young girl/woman handled the
situation and we would like to think we would have the clarity to have acted
differently. But we must remember she was a child when a life-changing incident
came to her and forced her to act.
There are so
many do-overs we would love to have. And even though we may not have acted to
try to directly change what we’ve done, we do what we are capable of to make
amends. Joe Wright and author Ian McEwan remind us of that in the most
beautiful way.
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