Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa
by Flick Chick Vique Rojas
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Atonement earns 5 Red Vines for sheer perfection! |
There’s no question rating movies is all about taste, personal tastes. But some movies are so perfect they transcend one’s personal barometer. Such is the case with Oscar nominated Atonement.
Set in the idyllic English countryside, we join a well off family on an average weekend. The precocious 13 year old of the house, Briony puts the finishing touches on her first play while her older sis, Cecilia, prepares for their brother’s return along with the rest of the family and staff.
But underlying tensions are brewing and slowly, insidiously, the movie goes from easy going observances on a sunny day to taunt, tension filled storytelling that will have you breathless in anticipation of the next plot twist. For you see both sisters, worlds apart in age and experience are deeply in love-or in crush with the same young man: the educated, handsome son of the head housekeeper. In the attempt to quash the romance between the man, Robbie Turner and Cecilia, young Briony takes full advantage of a horrible situation and concocts a devastating lie. Precocious as she is, she is too naïve to begin to understand the damage it will inflict on all their lives. Damage she will spend the rest of her life trying to repair.
The movie is the very definition of epic. From the lush English gardens to the burned out remains of Dunkirk’s beaches during WWII, every shot is executed with beautiful perfection. And it is all set to the incessant clack, clack, clack of a manual typewriter, like nails into a coffin.
Director Joe Wright from 2005’s Pride and Prejudice got his band back together with this latest effort. Not only does he bring many of his behind the scenes staff, he re-teams with Keira Knightley, getting even better results this time. As head strong, head over heels Cecilia, she is wonderfully engaging.
Playing her love interest Robbie, is the absolutely sizzling James McAvoy! After getting my first exposure to him in last year’s Becoming Jane, I wrote: Well, hello, can we say ‘yum’?! McAvoy is charismatic, handsome and decidedly sexy. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, he’s pretty impressive at that acting thing, too.
After seeing his performance in Atonement, Mr. McAvoy may soon have to issue a restraining order-against ME! He emotes volumes without uttering a word and what he goes through-well what the lovers go through will break your heart.
No spoilers here, as I’m sure you can gather by the name alone that this will be a story with a less than happy ending. As most great love stories do. Why is that?!
But the instigator at the center of it all is a character played by not one but three outstanding actresses. Because no matter her age, Briony is played to the hilt wonderfully. Yet 13 year old Saoise Ronan has snagged an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of the troubled young woman.
Whether you’re a fan of English period dramas, or not, from start to finish, Atonement is so beautifully orchestrated that it deserves to transcend your personal taste and be considered. Go see it. You won’t be sorry you did so.
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