I went to see Joe Wright’s Atonement last night, it is an amazing film.
I haven’t seen a film with such a sense of pictorial style since Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon.
The shots and set pieces were just so wonderfully arranged, the swimming scene down by the lake could have been painted by Lavery, the tableau at the front door when Robbie returns with the twins was a visual delight with the young Bryony spiralling up the stairs in behind her sister.
The incredible panorama of Dunkirk beach was another beauty, unfortunately in this case one that went on too long.
It was probably just as well it was visually thrilling because the performances were singularly unengaging, Knightly’s particularly so, but then it was such a highly stylised film I wondered if this was intentional.
Vanessa Redgrave, as the elderly Bryony gave an eloquent performance although I did notice myself s admiring the performance, rather than feeling empathy for her guilt.
But it was most enjoyable, and when it finished I would have been quite happy to watch the whole thing again.
It is rare I think in film to find such a detached style, more usual in art or poetry.
In fact I was reminded of Yeat’s words when I left the cinema.
Maybe Joe Wright has made a film that is “cold and passionate as the dawn”
It is well worth seeing.
Comments
beth
on October 6, 2007Martin, we also went to see it although i generally rail aginst going to any war films, but dutiful wife – i went- and like you was charmed by the quality of the photographic work – it was by a cameraman – becoming well know for his craft – a young fellow from Armagh Seamus Mc Garvey – i went to school with his sisters and his mum was a good pal of my aunt margaret who i recall recounting the first time Peggy McGarvey collected Seamus fresh and long haired off his flight from L.A. ‘Jesus’ she said – ‘Not yet mother, not yet’ he replied. But anyway he has done some marvellous work and it is all very distinctive – you know you are watching a Seamus Mc Garvey film – try – i think its called – Mrs Delamere – with Nicole Kidman as Virginia Wolf and Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore or the one with Emma Thompson and her mother in a film about a mother and daughter in Scotland – sorry can’t remeber its name, but Emma Thompson is a big supporter of his.. I’ll stop waffling now and hope that you get to see more of his work sometime soon.
BC xx
martin
on October 7, 2007It must be something in the water in Keady
The comments are closed.