Ian McEwan’s novel becomes a passionate tearjerker in this adaptation from Pride & Prejudice director Joe Wright and Quiet American writer Christopher Hampton. Or, at least, the first half does. Pride star Keira Knightly is the heroine, a wealthy girl whose mysterious relationship with the educated son (James McAvoy) of the family housekeeper piques the interest of her younger sister Briony (Oscar-nominated Saoirse Ronan). What follows, which is best not given away, is one of those old English-y sort of love stories where the passion is pent up, like in Pride & Prejudice, but even more like in The English Patient.
It’s 1935 when the story begins, and the setting is one of those impossibly large estates that are now, frequently, tourist attractions. Cecilia (Knightly) has returned from college, where she encounters Robbie (McAvoy), whom she’s not seen in some time. Also present are some cousins, a brother, a friend of the brother’s, and Briony, whose powers of imagination will drive the plot in unexpected ways. Wright’s direction is crisp, moving to a musical motif that cleverly incorporates a clicking typewriter. No scene feels wasted, and indeed, when the plot moves devastatingly forward I was sorry to leave the manor and the minor characters behind.
The war is what comes next, and the love story becomes, also, a story of tragedy and redemption. I’m being deliberately vague here about how that happens, but the themes the movie’s title points to are about how we judge ourselves and come to grips with mistakes that cannot be undone. The hallucinatory mid-section of the movie might seem to be about something else, and to lose momentum, but is rescued by the ending. The plot is very faithful to McEwan, but not in a way that makes it feel like something is missing. Besides, what is added is a series of picture-postcard images that makes the movie visually as well as narratively stunning. McAvoy, the faun in The Chronicles of Narnia, the callow doctor in The Last King of Scotland, is a surprisingly convincing romantic lead. Actual displays of passion are limited, but the one unmistakable love scene smolders.
If you thought English Patient was dull and overlong, you might still like Atonement, which comes in under two hours and is less talky. But if understatement doesn’t appeal to you, if The Notebook is the sort of romance you’re searching for, this ain’t it.
IMDB link
reviewed 12/27/07
No comments:
Post a Comment