I thought Atonement was good, but I wasn't swept away, and I wanted to be. I wanted this to be a movie that I'd want to see multiple times. Maybe my expectations were too high. (Darn BBM. It's going to be a hard movie to top.) I haven't read the book, so maybe that would have made a difference. I mean, there are people over at IMDb who absolutely love this movie, and it did win two Golden Globes....
I admit that it does have awesome cinematography, especially in the first part of the movie. The Dunkirk scene is amazing; the camera just keeps on panning. I probably could have done without seeing the bodies of the dead schoolgirls and the poor horses, but war isn't supposed to be pretty. Keira Knightley was stunning -- I loved her in the green dress -- and Saoirse Ronan was impressive, too. (Can't wait to see her in The Lovely Bones.) The actress who played 18-year-old Briony seemed too old, IMO.
SPOILERS
My favorite scene had to be when Briony walked into the dining room with the letter from the twins, and Cecilia, thinking it's the letter from Robbie, says, "Let me have it" -- or words to that effect. If looks could kill, Briony would be dead.
I'm wondering why Briony was so upset by the fountain scene, especially since Robbie was trying to look away and he didn't do anything sexual to Cee. Maybe Briony had some schoolgirl crush on Robbie and was jealous that he was paying attention to her sister and not to her. Too bad Robbie and Cee didn't lock the library door....
I'd have thought that Briony would have admitted her lie a lot earlier -- at least to her parents -- because once she realized that her lie was breaking up her very own family.
I cry rather easily at movies, so I came prepared with kleenex, which I didn't need. Don't get me wrong, the movie is good, perhaps even very good, but I was hoping for great.
Maybe I should read the book.