"Atonement" is a very peculiar movie, the story of the film is not surprising, but director Joe White's perspective is very unique, using Brioni's life to tell the story of confession. Brioni is more like a bystander in the film. The mistakes she made when she was young and ignorant are destined to spend her life to make up for it.
The film adopts a two-line parallel structure, a cyclic structure, one story line is Brioni's painful life, and the other story line is Robbie and Cecilia's difficult love road. The two story lines are intertwined, and the narrative time and space of the film are also reversed and jumped, which brings a strong visual impact to the audience. Such a unique narrative technique not only enhances the appreciability of the film, but also emphasizes the life of the three protagonists who fell apart.
The beauty of "Atonement" lies in the gradual improvement in the viewing process. The narrative in the first half of the film is very plain. Although Robbie's unjust case is worrying, there is not much surprise in the whole process. The second half of the film is full of highlights. The director’s panoramic follow-up of the Dunkirk retreat is amazing. The 300,000 British and French forces retreated on the beach of Dunkirk, showing a bleak scene. Defeated. The scene at Dunkirk port is like the finishing touch of the film, setting off Robbie's tragic fate, which is also the most expensive scene in the whole film. Originally, "Atonement" with a strong literary atmosphere, because of a huge Dunkirk retreat, it has also become an epic masterpiece. For the whole drama, this great retreat, which shows the defeat of the coalition forces, is an indispensable stroke.
"Atonement" takes the majestic World War II as a broad historical background, and presents an emotional story full of misunderstandings and tears. While following the ups and downs of the original storyline, the clever Joe White used a unique way of expression in film language to fully interpret the sorrow, hatred, and difficult human entanglements in the story. Coupled with the background of the grand war history. A fascinating emotional legend leaps forward to reach the audience's heart.
