Abasement
Posted on | August 24, 2008 at 9:44 am | 2 Comments
Movie Review Sunday!
Last week, the girlfriend and I finally had a chance to watch Atonement, another of the 2007 Best Picture-nominated movies. After this, the only one I still need to see is There Will Be Blood. Atonement is a frisky little flick about a raccoon, a turtle, and a squirrel-like thing who are always trying to raid suburban homes for food back in the last ice age. No wait… if only.
Actually, as I’m sure everyone reading this blog already knows, it’s the story of two lovers (played by Kiera Knightly and James McAvoy) separated by the deliberate actions of a young girl at the beginning of World War II. When I first heard about this movie, I thought it was mostly going to be about the lovers trying to reunite throught the fires of war and all that. But no, it’s actually more about the young girl and how she seeks to atone for her act (hence the title). In the course of the movie, you do find out what happened to the lovers (two different outcomes in two different ways), but that’s not the important part of the story.
The movie jumps around in time a lot, and not only because the narrative is split into three different time periods linearly, but also because there are disconcerting flashbacks or recreations within those parts. I understand the book it was based on had the same structure. Sometimes that kind of thing can draw you more into the story, but I felt pulled out of it this time, even though I could mostly follow it. The first part of the story, which sets up the incident that propels the rest of the story, is the most interesting part, even if it does seem a bit too “Merchant-Ivory gentle English countryside in the 30s” for my sensibilities. But the characters are well drawn and the story moves along fairly briskly.
The second part, set in World War II, is a bit more plodding as you learn what happened to the three main characters and how their lives have changed. The most fascinating part of this is a scene set at the evacuation of Dunkirk (which I had to look up, because I didn’t know that much about it and didn’t completely understand what was happening), which includes a nicely done 5-minute continuous (no cuts) “walking on the beaches” shot. That’s pretty stunning. I found it hard to stay awake for much of the rest of the WWII scenes, especially the scene of a nurse consoling a dying French soldier. Yes, I’m a hard-bitten bastard.
The last part is set in modern times with one of the characters explaining what actually happened to everyone. Though it was emotional and moving, and it gave the movie its theme, it was ultimately somewhat annoying and a let-down for a denouement. I don’t need a Hollywood ending every time, but I think I would’ve liked a more conventionally climatic ending (whether good or bad) in this case, instead of someone just talking. I was hoping legions of zombies would rise from the dead and eat some brains or something.
The movie’s okay for a rental, but I’m glad I didn’t see it in the theater. It is a pretty nice movie to look at and it shined on the Home Theater even though it wasn’t in Blu-Ray. In comparison to the other nominated movies, I put it below Juno and Michael Clayton, but about even with No Country For Old Men. As I said, I still need to see There Will Be Blood.
Bonus Movie: Last night on Cinemax HD, I watched the 2007 flick Shoot ‘Em Up, which featured Clive Owen on the run protecting a newborn infant and killing people with carrots. Lots and lots of carrots. ‘Nuff said. It ruled.
Latre.
Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “hot rails to hell meaning”.
Videogame(s) Played Yesterday: Heavenly Sword (PS3)
Comments
2 Responses to “Abasement”
August 24th, 2008 @ 2:31 pm
I wish *I* hadn’t seen Atonement in the theater. Overrated.
August 24th, 2008 @ 4:35 pm
> The movie jumps around in time a lot,
> and not only because the narrative is split
> into three different time periods linearly,
> but also because there are disconcerting
> flashbacks or recreations
Hey, I think I just spotted blogging tip #22!!