Atonement

Atonement won the Golden Globe for Best Drama a little over a week ago, and it seems a likely candidate to be nominated for an Oscar the morning after I post this, so I don't think I was wrong in having heightened expectations. And Atonement is indeed an awardsy movie: A sweeping drama about two lovers torn apart, first by a misunderstanding and then by the second world war. It's spectacularly shot with some impressive set pieces. It's got an haunting, evocative score. And it boasts some terrific performances. But something was missing.

Here, roughly, is the story: Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) have grown up together; he is the son of her family's housekeeper. At the start of the movie their relationship is fairly siblingly, but their latent passion for one another is awoken after Robbie sees Cecilia dive into a fountain to retrieve part of a broken jug wearing naught but her underthings. Also witnessing the fountain-dive is Briony (Saoirse Ronan), Cecilia's 13-year-old younger sister and a fledgling writer. Briony isn't sure what to make of all this, but after intercepting a naughty letter from Robbie to Cecilia, Briony and her older cousin Lola (Juno Temple) determine that Robbie must be a sex maniac. Later that night, Briony catches a couple having sex in the bushes (clearly, this is not a good day for her). The male runs off, but the female, it turns out, is her cousin Lola. Lola claims ignorance as to who was on top of her, and Briony--believing Robbie to be a sex fiend--assumes the assailant must be him. When Briony gives this as her testimony, Robbie is sent to prison and later to fight with the British Army. Robbie and Cecilia are torn apart, and Briony is left to fight her guilt.

It's a good, gripping plot, and it's aided by capable direction from Joe Wright (who also directed 2005's Pride & Prejudice), stellar cinematography from Seamus McGarvey (World Trade Center, Sahara) and an absolutely top-notch original score by Dario Marianelli (V for Vendetta). So it's likely to win it's fair share of awards. Still, I was left underwhelmed.

Here's the problem: While Briony, Cecilia, and Robbie found themselves in some horribly heart-wrenching situations, this critic's heart was never properly wrenched. And I think it's because I never really got to know the characters. Briony we get to know the most, but all we get from her is a sense of precocious fussbudgety. Robbie we get a little less from: While we do get a sense of his struggle for acceptance (being of lower birth than Cecilia & co.), he's really just a generic lover-turned-fighter. And Cecilia is just a garden-variety tragic heroine.

I don't think this fault lies with the actors; Ronan, McAvoy, and Knightley all do commendable jobs. Their love, fear, and shame all feel real, but they feel like the love, fear, and shame of people who I don't really know. As Robbie staggered about in combat, I couldn't help but think: "This is rough and all, but why should I care more about you than any of the other soldiers here?"

I won't blame Ian McEwan either, who wrote the novel upon which this movie is based. I have not read the novel Atonement, but with all the acclaim it's gotten (Time book of the year, among other accolades) I can't imagine that the characters are as inscrutable on the page as they are on the screen.

If I have to assign blame, it'll be to screenwriter Christopher Hampton (The Quiet American, Mary Reilly). Hampton put all the pieces in place, but forgot to imbue them with a soul.

Atonement still manages to get a 10, so the character anonymity doesn't kill it. But for a movie that's aiming for Hollywood's highest honor, that anonymity might well be it's undoing.