We've all done things we're not proud of, but what if one of our mistakes has such a ripple effect that several lives are torn apart because of it? How can we possibly make up for that kind of ongoing devastation? These are some of the hefty questions explored in director Joe Wright's second feature "Atonement" - following 2005's amicable "Pride & Prejudice" - based on the much-fussed-about novel by Ian McEwan. It's an incredible, well-rounded achievement, and has something for just about everyone (time-spanning romance? Check. Ruthless backstabbing? Check. Eye candy? Many checks).
"Atonement" begins in 1935 at a swanky England home where sisters Briony (Saoirse Ronan), a 13-year-old meddling playwright, and Cecilia (Keira Knightley), an elusive beauty romantically involved with the housekeeper's son Robbie (James McAvoy), are playing host to "cousins from the north." When one of the visitors gets raped by a sleazy family friend, Briony falsely points a finger at, of all people, Robbie. The cost? He is sent to prison and then off to war, waving goodbye to his dreams of becoming a doctor and actually enjoying his life.
The film skips ahead to 1939 and shows his time as a solider with the British army in France, clinging to the hope of one day returning to Cecilia ("Come back ...Come back to me," she beckons). Meanwhile, now-18-year-old Briony (Romola Garai) is working as a nurse in London as a way to repent for her mistake - though there's not a confession booth wide enough for that - not to mention writing a story about it. The way their lives unfold and what manifests is truly heartbreaking, and it's a testament to Christopher Hampton's ("The Quiet American") compelling, bounce-around script that what's next is often hard to pinpoint. We think we know, but we have no idea.
An exceptional romantic epic is hard to come by, and "Atonement" excels across the board - it makes it look easy. There is not a weak performance in the lot, from McAvoy's passionate, well-intentioned Robbie, to Knightley's devoted Cecilia, to the three effective actresses who play Briony (Vanessa Redgrave rounds out the triumvirate with a one-scene emotional wallop). Wright has a knack for making every scene, even the tragic ones, look idyllic, which he does most notably in a breathtaking sequence that shows the horrors of war - including a literal spin on the title "They shoot horses, don't they?" And then there's Dario Marianelli's haunting, innovative score, which cleverly incorporates the tapping of typewriter keys with orchestral goodness.
"Atonement" features the type of heart-tugging movie magic generally found in long-gone eras - it's more "From Here To Eternity" than the overwrought "Cold Mountain" or "Seinfeld"-ridiculed "The English Patient." Finally, a new love story worth falling in love with.
