New-ish movie Review -- Atonement

stunningly beautiful

cinematically captivating

this story is so compelling that it begged to be told. the performances of Kiera Nightley and the oldest briony, played by Vanessa Redgrave were exceptional. i thought kiera's lover, played by James McAvoy was a little bland. that could be simply a director's choice, but then again, maybe not. I mean, his last noteworthy performance was as a faun.

this is one of those movies that you are not necessarily on the edge of your seat, but your insides are. it is easy to become invested in a little girl's childish lie and it is easy to take the story for face value, just as it is told. so when you find that there is no redemption, it begs the question: then why "atonement?" and it is suddenly no longer just a pretty film. it truly asks the audience to think about the stories we tell and how they affect those in our world.

noteworthy technical elements: costuming and lighting. i kept praising the use of color and fabric... and that green dress.... hello! and even though the period felt more like an interpretation than an accurate representation, i loved the womens' clothes, from the nurse's uniforms down to kiera's swimsuit. the lighting played with the concept of harsh situations vs. the innocence of a child and told the story as well. the young girl always looked like a painting, perfect and hazed, and the rest of her world that she wrote about was bright and in sharp contrasted lighting. irony in lights? loved it.

the war scenes are an interpretation of WWII that you would never have thought to imagine. the lay-out, the colors, the mood of it all, is one that I have not seen a comparison.

as far as the rating, i don't recall why it was even given a Restricted rating, unless it was to purposely grab a mature audience to handle the content. there is some war violence and mature situations is what i believe it was labeled.

in my humble, yet correct opinion: 5/5

oh. and atonement is one to own.
a possibly powerful, thought-provoker, so it might be an
only-a-few-times-a-year kind of flick,
but it should live on your shelf nonetheless.

oh. it also should have won best picture last year.
but maybe i should see the winner first prior to
making just a bold statement. ok, i will...
but i still think it.