So I finally managed to get around to watching Atonement. I must say it is not what I was expecting, of course I hadn’t read anything about the story beforehand so I shouldn’t have really expected anything. It was certainly a different experience for me as far as romance stories go. Initially after the first 20 minutes or so I actually turned it off and decided I would return to it later because I was rather bored with it. This was one of only a very few times that I have done such a thing, being bored with a movie is just not normal for me. Part of it may have been that I was having difficulty acclimating myself to the British accents of the characters. The first part of the movie is mostly shown from the viewpoint of Briony Tallis, and I came in to the movie expecting it to be about Keira Knightley’s character Cecilila. After I managed to get settled into the movie it was a fairly enjoyable experience. I’m not here to give away plot details, but I think maybe the best scene of the movie was the long steady cam roaming shot of the soldiers on the beach after Robbie and his two mates arrive there. It was visually stunning to see the sheer scope of the British army all packed onto one beach. To be honest I didn’t understand the point to this movie until the last 10 minutes or so. Once I arrived at the end of the movie everything was tied together in a neat little bow and I realized what it had all been for.
Overall I would have to give the movie a B-