“Atonement” DVD Out Tuesday, Reviewed

March 17th, 2008 in Drama, Dvd, Movies

If you did not get to experience the film “Atonement” in theaters, you’ll now be able to pick it up on DVD when it is released this Tuesday, March 18th.  In the film, we are introduced to 12-year-old Briony Tallis.  She’s not only got an overactive imagination, but she’s also a bit of a busybody - two flaws that eventually lead her to commit a fatal sin that will haunt her until her own death.

One afternoon, Briony spots the housekeeper’s son, Robbie Turner, who also happens to be her crush, in a confrontation with her older sister, Cecilia.  What is unique about this scene is that we are first given a look at the situation from Briony’s viewpoint, and then cleverly, we get to see it again from the perspective of the participants - her sister and Robbie.  This is employed in another scene, where Briony walks in on the two making love in the library.  This method helps us as viewers realize pretty early on that Briony tends to see more than there really is, or something entirely different from what is actually happening.
After the confrontation, Robbie pens a heartfelt note to Cecelia, but accidentally encloses in the envelope a more lewd version that was supposed to end up in the trash bin.  Not realizing his mistake, he gives the sealed letter to Briony to deliver to Cecilia.  Briony’s curiosity gets the best of her, and she quickly opens the letter, shocked by the contents. The contents of the letter, for the era (1935 England), were pretty shocking, at least for a  young girl.   As she tells her cousin, she believes that Robbie is obsessed with sex and a danger. She calls him a “sex maniac”.

That very same day Briony walks in on Robbie and Cecilia having sex in the library before dinner.  This does absolutely nothing to squelch young Briony’s idea that Robbie is a sex maniac.

Not to long after, on a hunt for her missing twin cousins, Briony comes upon an adult male sexually assaulting her cousin, Lola, in the dark shadows.  Briony incorrectly believes that Robbie was the offender, and her “eyewitness” account was all that was needed to have poor Robbie hauled off to prison.

This single act changes everything in at least two lives.  Instead of spending his time in prison, Robbie is offered the alternate choice of fighting in the war.  This is what he chooses. Cecelia too makes life altering choices- choosing to leave her wealthy family and taking a job as a nurse.

I won’t tell anymore details, as that ruins the fun of it, but I would recommend seeing “Atonement” if you haven’t already.  It won 2 BAFTA awards, including Best Film and Best Production Design, as well as 1 Oscar for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score.  In total, it was nominated for 14 BAFTAS and 7 Oscars.

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