Spring Break
Dynamic film enraptures with old Hollywood charm
Issue date: 12/6/07
- Page 1 of 2 next >
It's easy to forget to what extent violence, CGI animation, foul language and tawdry sex dominate the movie industry. Easy, until movies like Atonement come along and remind us that films still can and should be invested in gorgeous scenery, complex, thoughtful storytelling and unselfish, profoundly believable acting from young talent.
Atonement, based on the novel by Ian McEwan, tells several stories which revolve around Briony Tallis, a 13-year-old aspiring writer living in England just before the onset of WWII. Young Briony, played startlingly well by Saoirse Ronan, witnesses glimpses of the love affair between her older sister Cecilia, (Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy). These voyeuristic peeks into a world of love and (not tawdry) sex that Briony doesn't yet understand lead her later to accuse Robbie of a heinous crime he did not commit.
The film manages to be at times a crime thriller, a romance and a war film while never betraying any of the genres or seeming out of line in its shifts. The actors serving the subplot of the film's crime, Juno Temple and Benedict Cumberbatch, are each excellent - Temple plays the precocious young victim aptly named Lola and Cumberbatch's Mitchell nears being over the top in his pedophilia but instead hits the creepy nail on its repulsive head. The only real cause for acting complaint are Lola's twin brothers, played by Charlie and Peter von Simpson, who, though humorous at times, seemed as though they were reading cue cards just off camera. However, their lesser talent could be simply in comparison to the enormous skill of the other child actors in the film.
As captivating as the crime committed may be, the true stars of the film are the young lovers Robbie Turner and Cecilia Tallis. The film, directed by Joe Wright who also directed Knightley in Pride and Prejudice, is something of a departure for the actress. True, she is a young woman in love, but here she carries herself as someone older, less impetuous and at times even mysterious. In short, with Atonement, Knightley has successfully left girlish roles behind and is now established as a powerful leading woman.
Atonement, based on the novel by Ian McEwan, tells several stories which revolve around Briony Tallis, a 13-year-old aspiring writer living in England just before the onset of WWII. Young Briony, played startlingly well by Saoirse Ronan, witnesses glimpses of the love affair between her older sister Cecilia, (Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy). These voyeuristic peeks into a world of love and (not tawdry) sex that Briony doesn't yet understand lead her later to accuse Robbie of a heinous crime he did not commit.
The film manages to be at times a crime thriller, a romance and a war film while never betraying any of the genres or seeming out of line in its shifts. The actors serving the subplot of the film's crime, Juno Temple and Benedict Cumberbatch, are each excellent - Temple plays the precocious young victim aptly named Lola and Cumberbatch's Mitchell nears being over the top in his pedophilia but instead hits the creepy nail on its repulsive head. The only real cause for acting complaint are Lola's twin brothers, played by Charlie and Peter von Simpson, who, though humorous at times, seemed as though they were reading cue cards just off camera. However, their lesser talent could be simply in comparison to the enormous skill of the other child actors in the film.
As captivating as the crime committed may be, the true stars of the film are the young lovers Robbie Turner and Cecilia Tallis. The film, directed by Joe Wright who also directed Knightley in Pride and Prejudice, is something of a departure for the actress. True, she is a young woman in love, but here she carries herself as someone older, less impetuous and at times even mysterious. In short, with Atonement, Knightley has successfully left girlish roles behind and is now established as a powerful leading woman.
Be the first to comment on this story