Atonement

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

One look at the people involved in this movie should convince at least my family to watch this one. It's from the guy who made Pride and Prejudice, and has the same guy do the music, and includes half the cast members as well as James McAvoy and Saoirse. So yeah, the goods are all there!

This movie is really great. It's pretty artsy at times, and usually I don't love that, but it mostly works here. It's got a unique way of telling the story and can be a tad confusing and hard to follow at times, but it all comes together in the end and pays off. The cinematography is also pretty artsy, but again it mostly worked for me. There is this incredible Dunkirk scene that reminded me a lot of, well, the movie Dunkirk. It's this phenomenal 1-shot thing that feels like it belongs in some movie Hall of Fame. Seriously, that scene alone adds at least a point or two.

The romance is a little half-baked in this movie, but that's kinda the point and I found it effective. I really was cheering for the two of them, and found their hardships heartbreaking and successes beautiful. It's a unique story totally worth your time.