Atonement

I'd read mixed things about this film and wasn't expecting to enjoy it, but there are some films you just want to have seen. People will talk about this one, so I was up for watching it despite not really being a fan of Keira Knightley.

Luckily, the first 150 tedious pages of the book are condensed into around ten minutes at the start of the movie. The first real hurdle is removed without leaving you wondering what's going on. So that's a good start.

The plot quickly grows deeper and would be easy to spoil, so let's just say it's really about the younger of two sisters, living a privileged, yet boring childhood in pre-war England. She's well educated, but naive, and lacks company of her own age. As she predominantly spends her time with adults, she convinces herself she's grown up too and this affects her behaviour when confronted with an extraordinary event and primes us for the rest of the movie.

The main characters all feel believable and the acting stands up well. The film moves around in time and location in what I initially found a confusing way, but once I understood the motivation, it made good sense. The story lost pace in places, but is strong overall and by the end I felt quite moved by it. I was genuinely touched and felt glad to have given it a chance.

Finally, I'd like to mention the music. The film repeatedly touches on a theme of writing, particularly typing on old fashioned, mechanical typewriters and this is carried through into the music with great effect. The tap, tap, tapping really made an impression on me.

Overall, a better experience than I expected and well worth a try even for those that feel it might not be for them.

Atonement