I was a bit over-hasty in announcing my film of the year last year, so - never one to learn from experience - here goes again: I can’t imagine that 2007 is going to produce a better film than Atonement. It’s as near as damn it to faultless, and I’ll be amazed if it doesn’t clear up at Oscar time. It also contains the best single shot of the year, reminiscent (if only for sheer audacity and technical bravura) of last year’s personal favourite, Children of Men - a nearly-six minute long, uninterrupted take exploring the Dunkirk beach evacuation, capturing it in the grandest and most minute detail. It’s Atonement’s show-stopper, but by no means its only stunning sequence. In fact, there’s hardly a scene that doesn’t impress in some way, thanks to a combination of superlative production values and a talented cast and crew working at their absolute best.
Atonement breaks down into three distinct but interlocking acts. The first - in which thirteen year old Briony Tallis witnesses and drastically misinterprets a scene between young lovers Robbie and Cecilia, leading to an accusation which will devastate all of their lives - plays like a compacted Gosford Park, but with a mounting tension that makes its final events feel utterly inevitable. The second part follows Robbie, released from prison to serve as a soldier in war-torn France, struggling to return home so that he can fulfill his promise of love and marriage to Cecilia. It’s a vignette of a war film that shows no actual combat, only the flotsam of broken bodies, places and lives left in its wake, and is all the more powerful for it - and for the aforementioned sequence of the Dunkirk evacuation, which sums up that particular brand of horror to stunning and moving effect. A final section focuses on an eighteen year old Briony, now a nurse trying to follow in her sister’s footsteps, to live with the guilt of her actions, and perhaps to find some way to atone for their appalling consequences. Not only does this last chapter perfectly wrap up what’s come before, it also works (along with the brief epilogue) as a brilliant essay on the nature of writing, and fictionalizing in general.
It would be hard to over-emphasize just how good every aspect of Atonement is. Joe Wright’s direction is consistently intelligent, and - accompanied by Seamus McGarvey’s radiant cinematography - makes every frame totally absorbing. Neither of them is ever let down by Christopher Hampton’s taut, lucid script. Dario Marianelli’s score is unique, imaginative, and perfectly woven through the material. And as for the acting … James McAvoy has been hinting at greatness for a while now, most noticeably with The Last King of Scotland, but after his performance as Robbie there can’t be any doubt that he’s one of the best actors working today; all three actresses playing Briony are superb; and Keira Knightley - well, this is the closest she’s come to a really good performance, even if it’s not enough to wipe out the memory of all the really bad ones.
Atonement is magnificent filmmaking, a work that doesn’t once hesitate or compromise in telling a story both haunting and vital. You’d be right to have doubts about my declaring it film of the year in mid-September, but have a look at Rotten Tomatoes if you’re not convinced - at time of writing the reviews are 100% positive, and how often are that many critics unanimous about anything? But, having said that - it isn’t my favourite film of the year, and even at this stage, might not make that particular top ten. Because, as brilliant as it undoubtedly is, there’s something missing, something that’s hard to put my finger on - the best I can say is that there are occasions when it should be incredibly angry and is merely clever and brilliant. And having made that one vague criticism, I’ll finish be reiterating that Atonement is without doubt an astounding film, and one that absolutely shouldn’t be missed.
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