Atonement

An absolute wonder of a movie. Atonement, from the novel by Ian McEwan, is one of the best I have seen in a very long time. A rich and multi-faceted story, which starts off as light and elegant as a feather and plunges to the depths of despair and regret. A number of excellent performances, none more noteworthy than that of Keira Knightley, finally getting a role worthy of her considerable talent and great beauty. The cinematography is breathtaking. Great care has been taken over framing every scene of this film. One scene in particular, that of the Dunkirk evacuations, stand out as surely one of the great scenes of film history. As a portrayal of the surreal nightmare of war it is stunning. In one part a character stands in front of a film being showing on screen behind him. This type of scene has been used in many films, but it has never struck me as effective as here. It felt as though the character had stepped from the screen and become part of the audience. Whether or not this was intentional, I cannot say. For me that effect aligned with an underlying theme, that of the story teller and his or her relationship to the audience and the characters in the story. Is it kindness to provide a happy ending for your characters and hope for your audience or must one stick to an honest retelling however grim the outcome?