Atonement is the Pulp Fiction for the Masterpiece Theatre set. No it's not violent, but it tells its story in a non-linear fashion.
Set in England some years before WWII, we start with a young writer finishing her first play inviting the stable boy to the play. Her crush on him will be important as it leads her to do malicious and damaging things. He and her sister are really in love. Of course, we know it's doomed. She sees them at the fountain only part of a scene. She misinterprets it. Then we go back to see the reality of the scene. The audience knows more than the characters and at each turn, the audience feels like shouting out to stop the madness. "That's not what happened." He gives the sister the wrong letter. She reads its and again misinterprets it leading to major trouble. Skip a few years to the war and he's trying to get home. The sister is now estranged from her family and is a nurse in London. She too becomes a nurse, but still writing. The writing of her autobiography goes on. She taps it out on the typewriter.
While somewhat pretentious (it yearns for an Oscar), I liked the fact that I had to think and concentrate on some of the story. While not outright great, it was a good watch.
3 of 5 stars.
Set in England some years before WWII, we start with a young writer finishing her first play inviting the stable boy to the play. Her crush on him will be important as it leads her to do malicious and damaging things. He and her sister are really in love. Of course, we know it's doomed. She sees them at the fountain only part of a scene. She misinterprets it. Then we go back to see the reality of the scene. The audience knows more than the characters and at each turn, the audience feels like shouting out to stop the madness. "That's not what happened." He gives the sister the wrong letter. She reads its and again misinterprets it leading to major trouble. Skip a few years to the war and he's trying to get home. The sister is now estranged from her family and is a nurse in London. She too becomes a nurse, but still writing. The writing of her autobiography goes on. She taps it out on the typewriter.
While somewhat pretentious (it yearns for an Oscar), I liked the fact that I had to think and concentrate on some of the story. While not outright great, it was a good watch.
3 of 5 stars.