Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Now Playing: Atonement

Movie #4 on the Golden Globe list brings us to Atonement. You will notice from my previous reviews (and my Flixster account) that I rarely talk about plot details and such - there are better sources for such things. I'll assume, gentle reader, that you will know about these inanities.

On to Atonement. I will admit, when I saw that Keira Knightley was cast as Cecilia, I was troubled. I find her brand of acting hard to swallow - like Kate Winslet before Ms. Winslet grew up. Surrounded as she was by such stellar casting and acting, however, it was easier to ignore her. Saoirse Ronan was a mini-miracle as 13-year-old Briony with all the melodrama and fanciful notions of pre-pubescent control freak. (The opening scene has all the toy farm animals lined up facing in one direction - hers). And the cameo appearance of Vanessa Redgrave upped the class level of the entire production. The show stealer? James McAvoy. I loved him in The Last King of Scotland and he didn't fail to impress me again. He infused an amazing amount of passion and gravitas into his entire performance.

The directing and cinematography is also quite impressive. The tracking shot at Dunkirk was beautifully done, without feeling intrusive or contrived. It's hard to find fault with the plot itself - based on Ian McEwan's novel of the same name, it is quite a dissertation on penitence, forgiveness and, above all, love. Further discussion would only spoil the movie, so I'll leave it at that. 4 out of 5 stars.

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