Super Late Film Reviews- Atonement

Earlier this week someone suggested I (finally) watch Atonement so I figured, what the hey, I can finally get it off my to-watch list. Plus there’s no such thing as too much Keira Knightley, right? Right?

If you were born at the wrong time (like me) or just born under a rock (like me), Atonement (dir. By Joe Right) is the story of young lovers Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and Robbie Turner(James McAvoy) whose relationship and lives are torn apart by a lie naively constructed by Cecilia’s younger sister, Briony (Saoirse Ronan). Spanning a period of four years, the story is told beautifully complete with dreamy and whimsical visuals and honest perspective through the use of non-linear timelines.

I’ll be honest with you Atonement really surprised me. I expected the story to unfold very differently, with a beaten down Robbie overcoming all manner of obstacles to eventually make it back to his lovely Cecilia, and thus thwarting the evil scheming of Briony. The film completely rose past and smashed those expectations and showed me is was a far better film than I thought, one full of suggestions, symbolism and nuances.

Take Briony who, by all accounts, should have been seen as the main antagonist of the film. Except, one can’t help but feel sorry for her, beginning to end. Far more intelligent than her age would suggest, Briony felt extremely isolated from those close to her age and was desperate to gain the admiration of those she believed her peers (namely Robbie). Every scene of Briony’s early adolescence is rife with dreamy imagery and playful innocence, a constructed world of Briony’s fanciful imagination. Briony worked hard to ensure that the world fit her imagined view o telling lies to herself and others to the detriment of Robbie and Cecilia’s happiness.

Even Keira Knightley’s Cecilia surprised me to no end. While I expected a perfect ‘English rose’ polite and charming, what I got was a mildly short-tempered, often haughty, wealthy young woman whose saving grace was her passion, intelligence and fierce intuition (she was still quite charming though). Cecilia’s relationship with her sister was never forced, a beautifully quiet bond that was painful to see dissolve throughout the course of the film. In fact, Cecilia’s relationships with her brother and her mother was also very apparent, although both were in the film for a minimal amount of time. It was that that made me taking a liking to her, and it also made me realise that this wasn’t a film about blame, it was simply telling a story.

I couldn’t talk about this film without mentioning Robbie. Educated, humble but thoroughly working class, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out he’s infatuated with Cecelia. As a ward of her father, he is indebted to the family but still holds his own insecurities. With every interaction he has with Cecilia, it’s evident he doesn’t believe he holds a candle to her. As I was watching the film I couldn’t help think about the effects of classism on a person’s psyche. I mean, you can have the best education in the world (Robbie went to a private school), the best opportunities in the world and still believe you are inferior. A few other films come to mind when I think of that, perhaps I’ll write a post on that. 

Back to Atonement: I do think what really stood out to me was how beautiful the film was. I thought I was prepared for some pretty good scenes but I was blown away by the sheer magnificence of the visuals. Atonement was full of pastels and florals that It spoke of girlish childishness. Even the scenes of war-wracked soldiers had it’s own beauty and symbolism. What really took the cake though, was the use of different perspectives throughout the film. Nothing was exactly as it seemed, there was always deeper meaning and Atonement showed us just that without even giving the characters lines that differed from the apparent norm. It did what good movies do best: it did not tell, it showed.

Music throughout the film matched the visuals and the plot to a tee (I have just discovered that the score earned an Oscar, yes). From the beautiful operas of the love stricken Robbie, to the discordant piano playing as their lives fall to shamble, the music always maintained it’s own level ethereal beauty.

This was a movie of highlights. Every actor involved performed beautifully, especially Saoirse Ronan, Keira Knightly and James McAvoy. One of my favourite scenes occurred as Briony escaped into the wilderness, through a tunnel of lovely flowers, her blue dress and blonde hair reminding me of Alice falling into Wonderland. And how could I neglect to mention the excellent long take that showed the full extent that the war had on soldiers and their resilience. I love Atonement, I cried and marvelled like a little baby and I can only hope that someday I’d be able to make a film just like it.

Rating: 10/10

Have you got any thoughts on the film? Or perhaps a suggestion for another review. Let me know!

Selma Review-Super Late Film Reviews

1964: Selma, Alabama. Despite being given the right to vote, African Americans around the country are being denied said right through rigorous intimidation and unfair practices. Enter Martin Luther King Jr, played to nuanced perfection by British Actor David Oyelowo who leads the inhabitants of Selma on a tumultuous journey from Selma to Montgomery in order to secure their rights in the face such violent and prejudiced opposition. So begins Ava DuVernay’s visually beautiful, quiet exploration into the people involved with the Civil Rights movement, their relationships and their personal struggles.

As the film opens to King and his wife Coretta (Carmen Ejogo) preparing for King to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, we in audience immediately realise this film will be big on the quiet interactions of its characters. Further reinforcing this is the innocent chatter of a group of young girls in church, chatter which is quickly cut short by what I can quite easily say was one of the most shocking scenes of violence I have ever viewed.

In the face of stubbornness from the President Lyndon B. Johnson, the fight for their right to vote is taken to Selma where before long, King and his colleagues become embroiled in a battle that completely transcends race and simply the displays the struggle for power between the oppressed and their oppressors.

Selma was certainly beautiful and intimate, with director DuVernay favouring close up shots to emphasise each character’s expression and reactions, giving a strong sense of humanity, person and realness to each individual role. In all honesty, the images that sear my mind are of the people; their emotions given more than just a cursory pan but rather a full focused moment in our sight. Unfortunately, this attention to detail meant that scenes were often protracted and bereft of enough action, often leaving the audience bored.

The standout of Selma was David Oyelowo’s performance as King.  All in all, Selma was a good film and despite it’s somewhat cliché ending (the whole end a historical/biopic film with ‘what happened after’ text writing thing is a bit done to death) and lack of real action, its great scenes redeemed it to a degree and left me thinking about it long after I walked out of the cinema.

7/10

All photos from the Selma promotional website

Super late Film Review: Kill Your Darlings

It’s quite unfortunate that I live in the middle of nowhere because that means that I never get to watch the movies I’m interested in on time. Cinemas are a pain and release dates make me cringe. Spoilers are the bane of my existence. Also, independent movies are practically a myth here.

Although somehow, I have managed to watch Kill Your Darlings directed by John Krokidas. The biopic revolves around the life of Allen’s Ginsberg and his interactions with Lucien Carr, William S. Boroughs and Jack Kerouac from the moment where Ginsberg is first dazzled by Carr and drawn into the subversive world of drugs, jazz and the beat movement to the aftermath of the murder of David Kammerer at the hands of Carr. The movie stars Daniel Radcliffe and Dane Dehaan and a bloody amazing cast.

I really, really enjoyed this film. I think the most important film is allowing the person watching to forget that watching and actually getting them to believe that they’re experiencing the events and Kill Your Darlings did just that. Radcliffe was the perfect choice to play the naïve and creative young Allen Ginsberg but I think it was Dane Dehaan who stole the show, portraying the emotional struggle of the brilliant yet flawed Lucien Carr. Ben Foster’s William Burroughs was as dry and witty as I could have ever hoped for.

4/5