Oscar Watch: Review – Atonement

Rated: R for disturbing war images,	In Theaters:	Jan. 4, 2008
language and some sexuality	Gecko Rating:

“Atonement,” based on the best-selling novel by Ian McEwan, is nominated for a slew of Oscars, including Best Picture. So I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the Oscar contenders.

It begins on a warm summer day at a country estate owned by the wealthy Tallis family. As imaginative 13-year-old Briony (Saoirse Ronan) watches out the window, she sees her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) disrobe and plunge into the garden’s fountain, as the housekeeper’s son, Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) looks on. It appears that he’s commanded her to do this, and when she emerges from the water, he can’t help but register the sight of the thin woman wearing nothing but a wet slip.

What Briony doesn’t understand is that the reality of the incident is nothing like she imagined. Later, when she accidentally witnesses a steamy moment between Cecilia and Robbie, she misinterprets the encounter as an attack, and Robbie is sent to prison for an unrelated sexual crime that very night.

More after the jump…

Fast-forward five years, and Robbie is released from prison to serve as a soldier in the war. One of the best scenes is an elaborate, uninterrupted five-minute shot of Robbie amidst thousands of soldiers on a beach, waiting to get back to England. He and Cecilia have made contact again, and he lovingly carries her letters, waiting until they can be together again. Meanwhile, Briony, now working as a nurse, tries to “atone” for the tragic mistake she made that ruined the lives of Robbie and Cecilia.

This film is beautiful with its vintage clothes (Keira’s green dress!) and sweeping landscapes of the English countryside. It’s like an Impressionist painting on the big screen. But it’s also a bit long, and I found myself looking at my watch a few times. Still, it’s nabbing Oscar buzz, and Knightley and McAvoy have plenty of chemistry. It’s definitely worth a couple hours of your time – especially this time of year, when we could use a little something to escape from the mid-winter blahs.

PARENTS SHOULD KNOW: There are a few passionate kisses and an intimate lovemaking scene, but no nudity. War scenes are graphic and disturbing, including a field full of dead schoolgirls, horses being shot, amputees and bloody soldiers. Language is somewhat graphic. In short, this movie is not for kids!

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