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Life/Style: Atonement Review
By TheStyleEditor | January 5, 2008
I don’t get out to the movies very often, which is funny given that I live in Hollywood. (Although, let’s be real, most movies they are churning out nowadays can be enjoyed at home on DVD.) However, Atonement had too many good things going on to miss on the big screen.
First, there was Keira Knightley, one of my favorites among the current crop of starlets (primarily because she is such an old-school broad, swearing in interviews and talking about sports–I love it!). How stunning does she look in this picture?
Second (actually, this is really first, but I put it second to mitigate my gushing), is James McAvoy. Ahhhh … James McAvoy. He of boyish face and hot rear end (come on, his behind made the gore and brutality of The Last King of Scotland totally worth cringing through). I have been secretly in love with James McAvoy for a long time, so obviously, any movie where he is the romantic lead is a movie I’m willing to pay $14 to see. (And yes, it was $14, and that was even at a matinee. Though you do get to pick your seat when you buy your ticket online for the Arclight Cinemas.)
Third, the novel Atonement has met much critical acclaim. And I confess, I haven’t read it yet, so I can’t speak to the film’s faithfulness to the book, though I will be ordering it posthaste. Atonement by Ian McEwan, at BarnesandNoble.com
However, not having read the book, I didn’t know anything about the story and had no amped up expectations about the film when I sat down in my seat at the theater.
What I liked about this movie was that on paper, it should have been a gooey mess given the romantic themes, the over-attractive leads, the wartime setting. All the elements could have been disastrous on film. Yet director Joe Wright managed to really spin the story in a fresh way, give it more of a romantic atmosphere rather than pounding into your face that. This. Film. Is. Romantic!
I was even more impressed given that his last film, Pride and Prejudice, also starring Keira Knightley, was just so-so to me. Having read all of the Jane Austen canon and watched the BBC miniseries more than once, I found the newer film was like a Cliffs Notes version of the miniseries. So for the director to evolve from that to his work on Atonement, which was so balanced visually and in the individual characterizations, it was really a beautiful thing.
Now, I won’t ruin it for you and lay out the whole plot because that would take out all the fun of seeing it, wouldn’t it? But suffice it to say that you should see Atonement. Definitely.
As an aside, I hope the Writers Guild gives the Golden Globes dispensation so that the SAG actors may cross the picket lines. Don’t get me wrong, the WGA is totally in the right on this fight, so obviously they must do what they need to do to protect their members (and put pressure on so that their membership can get back to work and make livings). But I sure would like to see James McAvoy all dressed up on the red carpet…
Topics: Life/Style |