Atonement: Dull and pretentious

It's a bad sign when the only interesting parts of a film are its last five minutes. Atonement is a dull movie whose thin plot could've been wrapped up in about 30 minutes, and I think I'm being a bit generous.

What's most frustrating is that the story had potential. Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan, daughter of Paul Ronin), as a 13-year-old aspiring writer, dramatically up heaves the lives of several people when she wrongly reports that she saw one of the house servants, Robbie Turner (James McAvoy, The Last King of Scotland, Chronicles of Narnia), rape a young cousin living in the family's enormous country estate. Robbie is hauled off to prison and Briony's sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley, Pirates of the Caribbean) is left longing for the man she's just realized she loves. Briony (later played by Romola Garai, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights) spends the rest of her life seeking atonement that she more or less never gets until near present day, when as her final act as a writer, she writes the story her own way (then played by Vanessa Redgrave, Nip/Tuck, Girl Interrupted).

Though the filmmakers had a universal theme and stunning actors to work with, they weren't able to take that story anywhere interesting. Atonement is simply, entirely, totally--boring. The most compelling moments come when Redgrave's character reveals the true story and we find that what we were watching wasn't what really happened. Unfortunately, that's also the end of the film.

From a technical standpoint, the film has its moments, but those are even somewhat uneven. Its beautiful cinematography and lighting are often overshadowed by a garish and widely inappropriate musical score from Dario Marianelli. He juxtaposes loud, large classical numbers against what should be tender, quiet scenes. There is a skill to that kind of contrast and he doesn't have it.

If there is a upshot, it's the acting. Saoirse Ronan's Oscar nomination for best supporting actress is well-deserved (whether she should win is another story), though Romola Garai and Keira Knightley would have been better choices. They both deliver outstanding performances, particularly Garai. Still, the acting's not enough to save this particularly dull and pretentious film. But that's not to say it won't sweep the Oscar's next month (it's sitting on a boatload of nominations, some legitimate, some not - like Marianelli's). After all, the Academy loves the dull and pretentious. Too bad they can't add entertaining to that list.