Atonement by Ian McEwan

Let’s see… good book made into crappy movies – lots of them. Dune, Stardust, The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, are only some of the recent ones that come to mind.

Good book made into good movies – well, Lord of the Rings, and umm… ah… anyway I can add another one to the list – Atonement. The book was written by Ian McEwan, and the 2007 film stars James McAvoy and Keira Knightley.

I read the book 3 months ago while i was on holiday, and watched the movie soon after returning. Initially I was a little disappointed with the movie, mainly due to three reasons. Firstly i thought that James McAvoy was too clean cut and kiddy to play the part of Robbie Turner. I had envisioned someone like Matt Damon (but British).

(Keira Knightley as Cecilia Tallis, and James McAvoy as Robbie Turner)

Secondly, I felt the movie failed to capture the sexual tension of the fountain scene at the beginning of the movie, which is pivotal to the entire book. And thirdly, i felt that the interview scene at the end of the movie, while necessary to keep the movie from going on too long, was a poor substitute for the party scene in the book.

(the pivotal fountain scene between Cecilia and Robbie)

(the overactive imagination of Briony Tallis ultimately ruins the lives of Cecelia and Robbie)

But now looking back, I’m beginning to see the strengths of the movie on its own, and appreciating the constraints of the screenwriters and directors. For one, casting Keira Knigtley was a masterstroke, even if she appears in less than half of the movie. So too was Saoirse Ronan, as the 11 year old Briony Tallis, the central figure in the story. The Dunkirk scene, a single-shot scene of the wartorn beach is especially breathtaking.

(Wounded and thirsty on the beach of Dunkirk, Robbie desperately waits for the boat)

So for those of you who love reading, pick up McEwan’s book. It was pretty popular back then, you’ll have no problems finding one to borrow, I suppose. Then watch the movie. If you’re not big on reading, get the movie anyway.

[tags]ian mcewan, atonement, keira knightley[/tags]