Friday, January 04, 2008

Atonement

Talk about the saddest movie ever!

Based on the laudatory novel by Ian MacEwan, the Atonement is hardly the movie to bring Zany Zinedine who was already feeling particularly moody that day. Volatile teenagers! :P

It was obvious enough five minutes into the show that something was going to go tragically wrong! Have you ever seen a movie that simply suspends the emotions - with tears that remain clinging stubbornly to the lashes without spilling over - since there's far more calamitous events happening on the screen?

Even from the beginning with the menacing typewriter snaps as a threatening undertone, there's a feeling of growing uneasiness and looming menace in the darkening horizon. An imperiled England is tottering at the brink of World War II and we have the aspiring writer Briony ( a lil priggish know-it-all honestly! ) finding herself intrigued by the thorny relationship between her aristo sister Cecilia and the brash housekeeper's son, Robbie. Unfortunately with an clear lack of self awareness and hardly any sense, she finds herself misreading Robbie's intentions which leads to a shattering denouement at the end of the first chapter.

Atonement!
Star-crossed lovers?

So a budding ( though painfully aching ) romance that is just at the brink of blossoming finds itself tragically snapped at the stem, all due to the misinformed actions of an irresponsible tween named Briony. Truly ( as some religious conservatives should take note! ) a little amount of knowledge is much worse than having none at all.

Honestly, I'd have easily choked the self-righteous brat and tossed her down the stairs like a rag doll as well - as threatened by one of the protagonists much later. At least our marplot Briony does try her best to seek atonement for her unwitting role in breaking up the ill-fated lovers.

SPOILERS


Atonement
Together

Me. I wish they'd found the happy-ever-after ending they deserved.

If anything it does leave an important lesson to reach out and grasp whatever small bits of happiness you can get in life rather than bide your time. Or else it might be far too late to do anything about it. So do not tarry when love comes your way, grab that winsome fella and give the bloke some tongue before he dies from an infected war wound!

Robbie : Hello. It's been a while, Paul!
Paul : Whatever, stud. *grabs*
Robbie : Wait, I... mmmmmppphhh.....
Paul : Now wasn't that so much more worth it than waiting for societal conventions and norms to change?
Robbie : L-lemme catch my breath first.

Sometimes patience is so over-rated.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

i didn't cry that much though.

ikanbilis said...

i don't have much of patient in myself as before but i could still hang up sometime.

you know, i keep loving your page banner. don't you!? he's the reason i frequent in GAP, lol.

Janvier said...

"You will cry and cry and cry!"? Maybe we will pass.

savante said...

Doesn't mean it ain't a good movie! Just really really sad!

Jake said...

I really really really want to see this movie. I'm a sucker for these kind of movies.