We’ve all said or done something we’ve regretted, whether it be saying terrible things about someone or hitting someone or sabotaging or lying or cheating. The general consensus is that as long as we learn and live with what we’ve done, whatever sins we commit don’t completely determine who we are. I’ve gotten angry and said things I know I shouldn’t have said but I learned to put it behind me and try again, be better and learn from my mistakes. What happens though, when it isn’t possible? When you’ve done something so horrid, so unbearably uncomfortably evil, only to have to relive those consequences every day for the rest of your life?
Never has the phrase “the pen is mightier than the sword” been demonstrated so cruelly than in Joe Wright’s film ‘Atonement’. This film was just a charity store pickup for me, didn’t think too much of it, never heard of it, watched it the same night I bought it, and shattered. ‘Atonement’ isn’t a gradual buildup of pain and sorrow like ‘The Whale’, it’s a train station and you’re dead centre on the tracks. Every few scenes a moment hits you and breaks every bone in your body and all there is is the silent reflection of how if just one person didn’t say anything, if one person didn’t jump to conclusions or one person just talked to someone mature enough about it: none of this pain would be here.
Robbie is a working boy around the estate of the Tallis’, one of the daughters of which, Cecilia, he is madly in love with, but as he fumbles his way into getting closer and confessing his love to Cecilia (who happily accepts), Briony, the younger daughter, observes with an all-too-keen eye and suspects Robbie. When Briony’s friend Lola is sexually assaulted, Briony falsely accuses Robbie, believing him to be a sexual maniac. Over the course of the next four years, Briony struggles to redeem herself, while Robbie and Cecilia are forced to suffer for their relationship, with Robbie being sent to Nazi-occupied France.
James McAvoy plays Robbie, an Oscar-worthy performance as always. His portrayal of a mortal man trying to keep all the agony, all the tears, all the hellish torment is so tear-jerking to me, his breakdown scene in the latter half of the film is essential viewing. Cecilia is played by Keira Knightly who wonderfully portrays the balance of disappointment and despair the character is so damned with. I would have loved to see more scenes where Cecilia is happier but, in this story it’s not hard to understand why that wouldn’t be possible. Saoirse Ronan and Romola Garai play Briony at age 13 and 18 respectively, Ronan as a child did an amazing job since I’ve never hated a child so much, but I feel Romola needed more. Maybe she was slightly paralysed by the weight of her actions, but Briony at age 18 didn’t feel as emotional as she possibly should have been.
Mason’s Top 3 Reasons To Watch ‘Atonement’
- James McAvoy giving his possibly greatest performance in his entire career
- A perfect blend of the War and Romance genres
- A gut-wrenching twist that will make you want to punch the TV and cry in the fetal position
Mason Horsley is a graduate of UOW with a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Arts, majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in Theatre. He hopes to write and direct a feature film and has been working on screenplays since he was 17. He writes film reviews for the Tertangala and works on his latest project ‘The Last Film’ while working a full-time job at a fish market. Mason despises reviewing films he dislikes and because of this, every review he writes acts as a recommendation.
Image Credit: IMDb