Atonement Keira Knightley

(aka 'Reviens-moi')

Directed by Joe Wright
UK / France 2007

Adapted from Ian McEwan's prizewinning novel, Atonement opens in 1935 on a British country estate, where Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and her sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan, and later Romola Garai) live along with Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), a servant’s son. After witnessing something she doesn't understand, Briony makes some unfounded accusations; the fallout from those charges extends through WWII and beyond.

The hat trick of Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel, Atonement, was spinning a typical English country-estate melodrama while simultaneously deconstructing trad Brit lit and equating the writing process with divine providence. Successfully translating these ideas to the screen, however, seemed as likely as Heathcliff coming to a happy ending. Which makes Joe Wright’s big-screen version all the more impressive: He’s produced a gripping, romantic yarn without sacrificing the source’s meta-examination of fiction’s power. Not even the director’s swooning take on Pride & Prejudice (2005) could have prepared folks for this.

Clacking endlessly at her typewriter, 13-year-old Briony (Ronan) fancies herself a budding Brontë. After she spies her sister (Knightley) and a servant’s son (McAvoy) engaged in brief encounters, her hyperactive imagination paves the way for tragedy. Years pass, WWII breaks out and the lovers vow to reunite; the now-older Briony (Garai) pays penance as a nurse. There’s a secret that’s better discovered than disclosed, and the key misstep in Wright’s doggedly anti–Merchant Ivory adaptation is that, unlike the book, it doesn’t play up the third act enough to make the climactic revelation more jaw-dropping.

Yet Atonement’s extraordinary qualities outweigh any quibbles. Both Knightley and McAvoy finally justify the ink spilled declaring them movie stars, and even virtuosic flourishes like Wright’s Dunkirk-by-Bosch steadicam shot avoid devolving into flashy self-indulgence. The film balances its intimate moments and epic gestures so beautifully that you’d think this stellar adaptation was single-handedly repenting for the rest of the season’s overblown, empty Oscar bait.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: August 29th, 2007 - Venice Film Festival

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DVD Review: Universal Studios - Region 1 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:

Distribution	Universal Studios - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	2:02:36
Video	1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.31 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1), DUBs: Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English, French, Spanish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Universal Studios Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by director Joe Wright • 7 Deleted Scenes with optional commentary (7:33) • Featurette: Bringing the Past to Life - The Making of Atonement (26:52) • Featurette: From Novel to Screen: Adapting a Classic (5:03) DVD Release Date: March 18th, 2008 Keep Case Chapters: 20

Comments:

NOTE: The HD version (combo) is reviewed HERE.

I view far too many films consecutively to have any worth as a critic. Often when I see something that deeply moves me - I am hesitant to try to express that joy as I know my ineffective words can never do it justice. Atonement is such a film. A perfectly realized cinematic experience. It is magnificent... as good as any film released in 2007.

The standard definition DVD looks very strong. Aside from some minor noise it produces a stellar appearance. Contrast and detail are at high levels and colors look balanced and true. I look forward to seeing it in 1080 as I imagine everything will be slightly improved. Atonement is a visual masterpiece with inspirational and deeply moving cinematography and this SD DVD seems to represent it very well. I can't see anyone having complaints about this disc's image quality.

The audio is in a 5.1 track (with similar DUBs in French and Spanish). To my ears it sounded buoyant without excess. It does have moments of being tested and pass those trials adequately. The soundtrack from Debussy to Puccini blossoms subtly. In short, I have no complaints with the film's audio transfer to DVD.

There are some fabulous supplements including an interesting and telling commentary by director Joe Wright. He has an easily decipherable accent - there are some appropriate gaps and he talks a lot on the blocking and detailing information to the actors. With the shots of animals he does mention Laughton's Night of the Hunter. There are also 7 deleted scenes with optional commentary. They run about 1 minute each and although interesting I believe the choices of removing them was correct. Finally two featurettes - Bringing the Past to Life - The Making of Atonement runs almost 30 minutes and includes input from Redgrave and Knightley as well as others. There is a shorter one as well - From Novel to Screen: Adapting a Classic that has Wright input some of the adaptation process - it runs only 5 minutes.

NOTE: I'd stated earlier that Sean Penn's Into the Wild would be our last HD DVD review but I must rescind that statement as I intend to also cover Atonement - Universal's last HD-DVD.

I've already extolled the film to the hilt and for only $16 this may have the best value of any DVD I have purchased this year. Buy... now.

Gary W. Tooze

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