Atonement (film)

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Atonement is a 2007 film starring James McAvoy and Keira Knightley. It is adapted from Ian McEwan's novel of the same name and directed by Joe Wright. The film was produced by Working Title Films and distributed worldwide by Universal Studios, with the US release through the Focus Features division. It was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on September 7, 2007,^[2] and in limited release in North America on 7 December 2007.

As the opening film of the 2007 Venice Film Festival, Atonement made Wright at the age of 35 the youngest director ever to open this prestigious festival. The film also opened the 2007 Vancouver International Film Festival.

[edit] Plot

The film comprises four parts, corresponding to the four parts of the novel. Some scenes are shown several times from different perspectives.

Briony Tallis, turning 13, an aspiring writer, and her adult sister Cecilia, are two of three children of a well-to-do English family. Robbie Turner, about Cecilia's age, is a servant's son close to the family. He was college-educated and he is apparently headed to medical school. Tallis cousins Lola Quincey (a bit older than Briony) and her younger twin brothers are visiting the Tallis family amidst theyre parents divorce. Paul Marshall is a visiting friend of the girls' brother, Leon; Marshall owns a chocolate factory that is acquiring a contract to produce chocolate bars for army rations. They all gather in the Tallis home to celebrate Briony's birthday.

Briony misinterprets altercations between Cecilia and Robbie as sexual aggression by Robbie. A misunderstanding with a letter of apology to Cecilia written by Robbie and delivered by Briony, who reads it, furthers Briony's concerns about her sister. Cecilia realises that she has deep feelings for Robbie, and worries that Briony will voice her concerns to the family.

That evening, Briony encounters Cecilia and Robbie in a sexual embrace in the library, and misinterprets it as a sexual assault by Robbie. At dinner, Briony becomes verbally aggressive with Robbie, but before she can accuse him of anything, the adults notice that the twins have not shown up. Searching for them, on their bed is discovered a note saying that they are running away to go home. The adults break up to search for the twins, but Briony sets out to find them. She stumbles upon a tuxedoed man who appears to be raping Lola. She immediately accuses Robbie to the adults, and the police. When Robbie later returns, with the twins safely in tow, he is arrested and jailed.

The movie then moves four years later, to the opening phases of the Second World War. Robbie is a private in the British Expeditionary Force, hiding in a French attic with two fellow soldiers cut off from their units by the German Blitzkrieg. Here the denoument of the rape accusation is shown in dialogue and flashback. With only his mother and Cecilia protesting his innocence, he was convicted and imprisoned, but granted parole on condition that he enlist. Before he was deployed he was reunited with Cecilia in London, where they renewed their love. Briony had apologised to Cecilia in a letter to which Cecilia did not respond, and had joined the nursing corps as an act of atonement.

Robbie reaches the Beaches of Dunkirk, where he is waiting to be evacuated. after a series of scenes which show his longing to see Celia again, he is told that they are going to leave tomorrow and falls asleep. At the hospital, Briony experiences the horror of the evacuation, and in one scene plays along to a confused, mortally wounded French soldier who dies in her arms.

Back in London, after seeing a newsreel showing chocolate magnate, Paul Marshall, profiting from the war, along with his fiancee, Lola Quincey, Briony attends the wedding of Lola and Paul Marshall. Finally, Briony summons up the certitude to visit Cecilia's flat, apologizing to her directly, and recanting her accusation. Without explanation, we see Briony witness Robbie awaking in Cecilia's bedroom, at the commotion of their argument, and he begins to assault Briony with anger for his imprisonment (due almost solely to her testimony). Cecilia calms him (using a phrase repeated several times in the film), and they tell her to tell her family, and the authorities, of Robbie's innocence in retribution. Robbie insists that she write to him (without 'embellishment or adjectives') precisely what happened, and why she did it, and to tell a solicitor the same thing. While they surmise that a servant boy is the culprit, Briony reveals that she knows Marshall was the attacker. She informs them of the marriage, which carries the explicit implication that Lola will now never testify against Paul Marshall, in her own assault.

The scene shifts to an elderly Briony being interviewed about her latest novel, "Atonement". Over the course of an emotional interview, Briony reveals that she is dying of vascular dementia, and that this novel is her last, but that in a way its her first. Briony reveals that, while it is autobiographical, the ending of the story actually was changed. In actuality she never could get up the courage to see her sister. Robbie had actually died of septic shock on June 1st (the night we see him fall asleep) and her sister was killed in the bursting of the pipes at Balham tube station. Briony expresses complete remorse and says that this was her chance to give them the hope and the hapiness they derserved, that she feels she stood in the way of. We see Robbie and Celia on the beach were they were supposed to meet enjoying a moment like what could have been.

[edit] Cast

• James McAvoy as Robbie Turner, the son of the Tallis family housekeeper with a Cambridge education courtesy of his mother's employer. Having refused previous offers to work with Wright, McAvoy was the director's first choice (producers met several actors for the role, including Jake Gyllenhaal,^[5] but McAvoy was the only one offered the part),^[6] fitting Wright's call for an actor who "had the acting ability to take the audience with him on his personal and physical journey."^[6] The actor noted that Robbie was one of the most difficult characters he had ever played, "because he’s very straight-ahead."^[6]
• Keira Knightley as Cecilia Tallis, the elder and somewhat cold but conflicted of the two Tallis sisters.^[6] Originally intended to play 18-years-old Briony, Knightley was the first reported to have landed one of the starring roles in Atonement, having previously worked with Wright on the cinema adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice (2005).^[7] With the director and Knightley unable to agree over which character the actress should play, Wright finally decided on Cecilia "because she has none of that Elizabeth Bennet vibe."^[7] In preparing for her role, Knightley watched films from the 1930s and 1940s, such as Brief Encounter and In Which We Serve, to study the "naturalism" of the performances in those films that Wright wanted in Atonement.^[6]
• Saoirse Ronan as Briony Tallis (age 13), the boastful and egotisitical youngest Tallis sister and aspiring novelist. Twelve-year-old newcomer Saoirse Ronan was not cast until casting director Jina Jay had come across her after many unsuccessful auditions around Great Britain.^[6] McEwan called her performanace "remarkable": "She gives us thought processes right on-screen, even before she speaks, and conveys so much with her eyes.”^[6]
• Romola Garai as Briony Tallis (age 18): Garai was the last of all three incarnations of the younger Tallis sister to be cast,^[6] following Abbie Cornish's refusal, who backed out due to scheduling conflicts with Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).^{[citation needed]} "She was obliged to adapt her performance’s physicality to fit into the Briony appearance that had already been decided upon for Ronan and Redgrave, spending time with Ronan and watching footage of her to approximate the way the younger actress moved."^[6]
• Vanessa Redgrave as Briony Tallis (age 77): Everyone's ideal to play the older Briony,^[6] Vanessa Redgrave was the first approached (although she was not cast until they had found Ronan),^[8] committing to the role after one meeting with Wright.^[6] Accordingly, she, Ronan, and Garai worked with a voice coach to keep the character’s timbre in a similar range throughout the story.^[6]
• Harriet Walter as Emily Tallis, the snobbish and self-lying but neurasthenic matriarch of the family.^{[citation needed]} Both Emily Watson^[9] and Kristin Scott Thomas^[9] were approached to play the role of Emily Tallis before the role went to Walter.
• Patrick Kennedy as Leon Tallis, the eldest of the Tallis siblings, an an easy-go-lucky graduate from Cambridge, working as a banker in London.
• Brenda Blethyn as Grace Turner, Robbie's mother, the Tallis family housekeeper.
• Juno Temple as Lola Quincey, the 15-year-old cousin of the Tallis siblings, visiting the family with her brothers over the summer after her parents' separation. A seemingly innocent, but manipulative character, confronted with sexual assault on the grounds of the house.^[8]
• Charlie and Felix von Simson as Jackson and Pierrot Quincey, Lola's nine-year-old twin brothers.
• Benedict Cumberbatch as Paul Marshall, a visiting friend of Leon Tallis and an aspiring businessman who plans to sell chocolate bars to the British Army.
• Danny Mays as Tommy Nettle, a fellow soldier of Robbie.
• Nonso Anozie as Frank Mace, another fellow soldier.
• Anthony Minghella as The Interviewer

[edit] Production

[edit] Locations

Locations for the filming included the seafront in Redcar;^[10] the Leigham Court Estate,^[11] Streatham Hill, South London (standing in for Balham, Cecilia's new home after becoming estranged from her family); Stokesay near Craven Arms;^[12] and Grimsby.^[13]

All the exteriors and interiors of the Tallis family home were filmed at Stokesay Court, Onibury, Shropshire, and chosen from the pages of an old copy of Country Life magazine.^[14] The Victorian mansion was built in 1889 by glove manufacturer John Derby-Allcroft and is still privately owned.^[6] London locations included Whitehall and Bethnal Green Town Hall, latter being used for a 1939 tea house scene, as well as St John's, Smith Square, Westminster, which served as location for Lola's wedding.^[6] The scenes from the 1940 Balham station were filmed in the former Piccadilly Line station of Aldwych, which was closed in the 1990s.^[6] Parts of the St. Thomas's hospital ward interior and corridors were filmed at Park Place, Henley-on-Thames; the exterior of the hospital actually being University College London.^[6]

While the third portion of Atonement was entirely filmed at the BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane,^[6] the beach and cliff scene first shown on the postcard and later seen towards the end of the film were filmed at the Seven Sisters, Sussex, more precisely at Cuckmere Haven which is incidently quite near to Roedean School which Cecilia was said to have attended. The scenes of the French countryside were filmed in Coates and Gedney Drove End, Lincolnshire; Walpole St. Andrew and Denver, Norfolk; and in March and Pymore, in Cambridgeshire.^[6] The scenes shot in Redcar include the seafront as a war-torn Dunkirk and a scene in the local cinema on the promenade.^[6]

[edit] Response

[edit] Critical reception

The film has received generally positive reviews. As of December 28, 2007, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes records that 85% of 151 critics gave the film positive reviews, with a consensus that the film's "strong performances, brilliant cinematography, and lovely score make for a very successful adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel." ^[15] Another review aggregator, Metacritic records an average score of 85%, based on 36 reviews.^[16] Roger Ebert gave it a four star review saying that the movie was "one of the year's best films, a certain best picture nominee."^[17] The film was #2 on Peter Traver's (of Rolling Stone) list of the Best Movies of 2007,^[18] and was listed as #3 on Empire Magazine's top 25 films of 2007.

On December 13, 2007 it received 7 Golden Globe nominations, more than any other film nominated for the 65th Golden Globe Awards.^[19][20] The film is also being billed as a possible front-runner for the Oscars.^[21]

[edit] Box office

The film was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on September 7, 2007 and has grossed £11,557,134. The film was also given a limited release in North America on December 7, 2007 and grossed $784,145 in its opening weekend, posting a per-theater average of $24,504 in 32 theaters. As of January 2, 2008 the film has grossed $13,547,055 in the US and $49,422,782 worldwide.^[22]

[edit] Awards

[edit] Wins

Atonement has been named among the Top 10 Films of 2007 by the Austin Film Critics Association Awards, the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association, the National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Online, the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle, and the Southeastern Film Critics Association. ^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]}

• Houston Film Critics Society Awards^[29]: Top 10 Films, Best Original Score (Dario Marianelli)
• Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards^[30]: Best Youth Performance - Female (Saoirse Ronan)
• Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards^[31]: Top 10 Films, Best Cinematography (Seamus McGarvey), Best Original Score (Dario Marianelli), Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role (Saoirse Ronan)
• San Diego Film Critics Society Awards^[32]: Best Editing (Paul Tothill)
• Satellite Awards^[33]: Best Adapted Screenplay (Christopher Hampton)

[edit] Nominations

• Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards^[34]: Best Picture, Best Director (Joe Wright), Best Supporting Actress (Vanessa Redgrave), Best Composer (Dario Marianelli), Best Young Actress (Saoirse Ronan)
• Chicago Film Critics Association Awards^[35]: Best Adapted Screenplay (Christopher Hampton), Best Cinematography (Seamus McGarvey), Best Original Score (Dario Marianelli)
• Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Saoirse Ronan),
• 65th Golden Globe Awards^[36]: Best Motion Picture Drama, Best Director - Motion Picture (Joe Wright), Best Performance by an Actor for a Motion Picture - Drama (James McAvoy), Best Performance by an Actress for a Motion Picture - Drama (Keira Knightley), Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Saoirse Ronan), Best Screenplay - Motion Picture (Christopher Hampton), Best Original Score - Motion Picture (Dario Marianelli)
• London Film Critics Circle Awards^[37]: The Attenborough Award for British Film of the Year, British Director of the Year (Joe Wright), British Actor of the Year (James McAvoy), British Actress of the Year (Keira Knightley), British Actress in a Supporting Role (Vanessa Redgrave), British Actress in a Supporting Role (Saoirse Ronan), Screenwriter of the Year (Christopher Hampton), British Breakthrough – Acting (Saoirse Ronan)
• Online Film Critics Society Awards^[38]: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Best Adapted Screenplay (Christopher Hampton), Best Cinematography (Seamus McGarvey), Best Editing (Paul Tothill), Best Score (Dario Marianelli)
• Satellite Awards ^[33]: Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (Keira Knightley), Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Drama (Saoirse Ronan), Best Adapted Screenplay (Christopher Hampton), Best Costume Design (Jacqueline Durran), Best Original Score (Dario Marianelli)
• St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards^[39]: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Best Cinematography Runner-Up (Seamus McGarvey), Best Screenplay (Christopher Hampton), Best Score (Dario Marianelli)
• Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards^[28]: Best Director (Joe Wright), Best Adapted Screenplay (Christopher Hampton)
• USC Libraries Scripter Award^[40]: Best Realization of a Book Adapted to Film (Christopher Hampton, screenwriter; Ian McEwan, author)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Atonement at the Internet Movie Database
• Atonement at Rotten Tomatoes
• Atonement at Metacritic

• Atonement at Box Office Mojo
• Atonement at All Movie Guide

[edit] Reviews

• The Times film review: Atonement
• Atonement film review on stv.tv/movies
• Atonement film review on european-films.net
• Atonement soundtrack review at Tracksounds.comcs:Pokání (film 2007)

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