This past weekend I went to the movies again and watched Atonement. (I seem to be going to the cinema a lot these days even though some films I watch aren’t really worth mentioning…)
Atonement is a full-fledged drama, based on the terrible consequences stemming from a false accusation made by a young girl who couldn’t possibly understand what she was putting the other people through.
The action of the film takes place around the time of WWII and the ending is (as it well should) a very sad one.
The story in itself is not terribly original and although I’m quite partial to a good dramatic flick, this is not what drew me to it.
In fact there were three things that made me enjoy the film:
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Being a British film, set in a period which I find particularly interesting, with all of the British flair and mannerisms. For some reason I cannot fully grasp I find this type of story and films really appealing –I still remember watching and thoroughly enjoying the TV show “Brideshead Revisited”, even though I was far too young to fully understand everything that was going on;
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Being a dramatic film which ends “badly”. Yes, I like a dramatic story (even if –or maybe especially if– it is a love story) and I do favor it over an action one any day. And also it is much more close to reality;
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The soundtrack. Composed by Dario Marianelli and played by a full chamber orchestra, I was especially impressed by the interpretation of Jean-Yves Thibaudet’s piano.
This is not a ground-breaking film and I don’t expect it to be one that I’ll remember as a favorite in the long run, but I did quite like to watch it and I had a good time doing so (and that, I believe, is very worthy in itself).