A must see for all period drama fans: Atonement (2007) review

    I’ve once told you I’ve missed most period dramas because I got into this genre late when most well-known films and tv shows were already there. But man, I do not know how I missed this absolute masterpiece. Atonement (2007) review, MASSIVE AND MANY SPOILERS!

    I really don’t understand how could I dodge such an excellent film. I feel bad for watching it late, but was it worth it? Absolutely!

Summary: Briony Tallis is a 13-year-old girl with incredible intellect and talent. However, she is stubborn and arrogant, which costs her a lot. Her sister Cecilia is a bit more careless but madly in love with Robbie, whose mother works for her family. Despite his lower social class, Robbie is also in love with Cecilia, but everything changes when the young Briony accuses him of rape. After 3 years in jail, Robbie joins the army and eventually tries to come back home to Cecilia.

    Ok, I think I already described the main characters but let me make a brief introduction to all of them:

• Briony - She’s smart, but sometimes arrogant

• Cecilia - She’s cool and chill

• Robbie - He’s touchy, romantic, and caring (perfect) 

                                                                       

• Lola - She’s eh, let’s say young 

• Paul - He is the worst

     I appreciated the drama so much that I got the book. I know, I know, I should have initially read the book and then watch the film, but to be honest, I didn’t know that it was based on a book. But yeah, I liked it so much that I even watched it two times in a row. Also, I should have put this film on the most aesthetically pleasing films because the way they shot it, the colouring and the script were top-tier. 

    Also, I know you might identify this as dubious, but to be honest, I didn’t hate Briony as much as you think. I know that without her false accusation, Robbie and Cecilia would have probably lived a real happy life. 

    I said ‘probably’ because unfortunately, the social classes (1935 & early WW2) were very important. That's a reason Robbie got to jail so easily, without many investigations. A key point of this book and film. And although he grew up alongside the Tallis family, he is nothing more than an outsider whose future depends on the Tallises' generosity, meaning charity.

    Another theme present in the film is perspective, which is basically the essence of the book and movie. Without perspective, the screenplay would have been static, almost monotone. I've heard the book is sectioned into parts, each narrated and explained by distinct characters. In the film, there is something similar, where a scene is shown from a particular character's point of view and then the same scene is shown from a different perspective, usually contradictory to the previous one. 

    The perspective is a product of one's assumption or limited knowledge. For example Briony, she sees the world through the lenses of a story and her perspective shapes her own reality. But her thoughts make sense, which is an important thing. Her imagination and incomplete conclusions caused her negative portrait of Robbie. She also fabricated those conclusions in order to explain the fountain scene she had witnessed. This implies that while she had a childish imagination, she still thinks or at least tries to think logically.

                                                                               Giphy

    Losing innocence is also a theme covered, as well as guilt. But one theme that I loved was the unchangeable past. Towards the very last minutes of the film, a rewind effect is portrayed in which we see, for example, the scene where Robbie gets arrested, but instead of viewing it from the inside with Briony, we see it from the outside with Cecilia whispering 'come back to me' to Robbie. And this effect wants to represent the alternative ending without Briony's false accusation. Along with the time that cannot be replaced.

    Yet, historical accuracy comes in. First off, you know that there isn't much to analyse, since the film doesn't really focus on that. But there is something that I did not find right. I'm talking about the Dunkirk evacuation scene. The film is not focusing on the war, which I don't understand why, cause the war was actually a reason Robbie and Cecilia didn't reunite so quickly. And mostly in Dunkirk, Robbie is wondering around the camp and the army is just an additional background support. The beach is also a giant mess, while in real life it was far more organised. 

    But despite that, I have nothing more to say. I give the film a solid 9.7 out of 10 and for the historical accuracy an 8 out of 10 because the army was just a support.