Another Epic

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A quick glance at the Wikipedia entry for Epic Films reveals the following:

“The epic film is a film genre typically featuring expensive production values, an emotionally moving music soundtrack, and dramatic themes. The name is derived from the grand themes, stories and characters of epic poetry, and is often used as a shorthand for “sword and sandal” films, although it can also refer to films in other genres, such as King Kong.”

Under normal circumstances I would not describe myself as a fan of the epic film. 2007, apparently, is not a year for normal circumstances as there are at least two films that I could fit into the category. The best and most obvious being There Will Be Blood, which I’ve written about here. The other, perhaps holding a more vaulted status, especially by the Hollywood Foreign Press, is Atonement, directed by Joe Wright.  My skepticism at Atonement being better than either There Will Be Blood or No Country for Old Men, kept me from seeing the film earlier.  I’ve decided to see a more Hollywood pictures (meaning films that use a more traditional structure and methodology) this year so Atonement is the first of these.  It was set up to fail in my eyes, however, due to my aforementioned skepticism.

Atonement is the story of Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley), and Briony Tallis (at various ages Saorise Ronan, Romola Garai, and Vanessa Redgrave) whose lives are forever changed by an event and a lie that occurs just before World War II. The lie follows the characters throughout their lives.

What I liked: I really liked the way the film was shot. When watching the preview it looked sentimental with longing glances and push-ins on characters emoting. I was surprised that, while those moments existed, they were well integrated into the picture. The long take at the evacuation at Dunkirk is another example of a “showy” technique that is well integrated into the film. I have read a couple of article criticizing the use of the long take in that sequence and while I have problems with it (which will be mentioned below) I think that the criticism comes from the shot’s insertion into a film that has very few similar sequences. There are many inserts of details in this film, like Cecilia’s bare feet close to shards of a broken vase, that I found beautifully rendered and seamlessly incorporated into the flow of the story. The same goes for some of the consciously composed shots (e.g. Cecilia on the diving board). The cinematography and production design were perfect for the story.

The performances were good all around, not distracting in the least. I believe the enemy of film is the distracting element and I was afraid that Keira Knightley would be distracting in this film. In fairness to her I haven’t seen many of her films (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and The Jacket… both of which I disliked) but I find that whenever I see her I’m only paying attention to her mouth. There is something weird about it and I can’t figure it out, but it bugs the hell out of me. In this movie the distraction went away early so I was able to become involved in the story.

The ending, which I will not spoil, was pitch perfect and emotional. I don’t normally respond to love stories that are depicted with standard techniques. A film like Atonement twists this and leaves with an ending that is both self-reflexive and emotionally powerful.

What I didn’t like: While the long take at Dunkirk was interesting, and I liked it, I found it taking me out of the story at a certain point. If the film had included a couple other shots of similar length then it may have solved this. I also found the movie dragging during Robbie’s time at war. I know that this time is important to the film but my mind was wandering when the story veered away from the intereaction of Robbie, Cecilia, and Briony.

I liked the film quite a bit and if I had seen it in 2007 then I would have placed it in my top movies list.

4 stars

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Tags: Atonement, Authorship, Dunkirk, flashbacks, Golden Globe Winners, James McAvoy, Joe Wright, Keira Knightley, Literary Adaptations, long takes, Romola Garai, Saorise Ronan, Vanessa Redgrave, Writing