Station To Station

 Based on the bestseller by Ian McEwan, Atonement is a story of misunderstandings and lives ruined. Of love denied and love delayed. It’s the kind of story that doesn’t just tug at the heart strings, it severs them. Gorgeously shot and directed by Joe Wright (2005’s Pride And Prejudice), Atonement marries the stylistic beauty of a Merchant Ivory production to the utter tragedy of an Anthony Minghella film.

We are introduced to sisters Briony (Saoirse Ronan) and Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley), upper-class and untouched by the realities of England between the first two world wars. Briony is 13-years-old, caught somewhere between the fantasies of childhood and the confusions of a teenager. Cecilia is in college, where she pretends to barely acknowledge her family housekeeper’s son, Robbie Turner (James McAvoy). Robbie’s schooling is being paid for by Briony and Cecilia’s father, and Robbie is spending the summer gardening on the Tallis estate.

A sexually-charged moment between Cecilia and Robbie at a fountain is witnessed by young Briony, who misinterprets what she sees. Briony has a crush on Robbie, the elements of which are shown throughout the movie in flashback. She feels both betrayed and fearful for her sister. Later, Briony witnesses a sexual encounter between the two in the family library. She begins to think Robbie is a sexual predator. When Briony’s cousin Lola Quincey (Juno Temple) is raped, she falsely accuses Robbie of the crime.

Robbie is imprisoned, and eventually chooses to go to war instead of spending the rest of his life in jail. Cecilia has gone into nursing, abandoning her family, who still believe Robbie is a criminal. They reunite in stolen moments, refusing to succumb to the horrors of the war and Robbie’s criminal record. Briony (now played by Romola Garai) has realized her childhood follies and joined her sister in nursing. She attempts to reconcile with Cecilia and Robbie, the results of which are revealed in the present day (with Briony played by Vanessa Redgrave).

Atonement is adapted from novel to screen quite well, with the stylistic flourishes of Wright effective in making long, dialogue-free scenes intimately interesting. Robbie’s visit to a beach at Dunkirk is assembled as one long tracking shot, filmed in such a way to convey the horrors of war and the ennui of the survivors. His use of close-up photography and choice of color palates are very appealing. Atonement is visually stunning.

The performances are sublime, as well. Ronan earned a Best Actress in a Supporting Role nomination at this year’s Academy Awards. It’s well-deserved. She plays a complex role with relative ease. Knightly and McAvoy are fantastic, in roles well-suited to their skills. Knightly, in particular,  continues to impress with her fire, wit, and skill with dialogue.

Grade: A-

Posted by The Artful Lodger at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A movie needs a great idea at its core, for starters. You build around that core with layers. The writing wraps around the idea and expands on it. A director internalizes the script and finds a way to present the idea in a way that is intriguing to the actors, who attempt to convey the idea to us, the audience. The cinematography, the music, the pacing: all important to the basic notion of conveying an interesting idea in a film.

Southland Tales, written and directed by Richard Kelly (of Donnie Darko fame), has that interesting idea at its core. It's a nice alternate history story, something that could have been cooked up by Arthur C. Clarke, or Greg Bear if we're feeling particularly difficult. The basic premise follows: Twin nuclear attacks on Texas in 2005 send America to war and the Patriot Act into overdrive. A "big brother" agency called US-IDent is keeping tabs on dissidents, including a group of  Neo-Marxists. Meanwhile, a German group called Treer has developed a new form of energy called "Fluid Karma," which is ripping a hole in space and time. These storylines and the characters involved in them begin to intertwine.

Or congeal, as it were. Because one of the many problems with Southland Tales is that the several hundred (it seems) plot points cloud the central idea of the movie. And when they come together, it’s with a resounding “Thud!” During the big reveal at the end of the film, I had to take a moment to say, “Oh, yeah, that’s what this movie was about!” Too many meandering subplots and too many superfluous characters just seem to hang around, taking up screen time without contributing much to the overall flow of the film..

There’s Justin Timerlake as Pilot Abilene, the narrator of the film. He’s a veteran of the Iraq War, disfigured by “friendly fire.” There’s Dwayne Johnson as Boxer Santaros, or Jericho Kane, or whomever he thinks he is at any given moment. Sean William Scott plays two characters, sort of. How about Sarah Michelle Gellar as an ex-porn star? How about a mini Saturday Night Live reunion? Amy Poehler, Jon Lovitz, Nora Dunn, Cheri Oteri, and Janeane Garofolo all appear. Mandy Moore? Check. Kevin Smith? Check. Miranda Richardson? Check. Wallace Shawn? Inconceivable! Bai Ling? Unfortunately, yes. Even the great Zelda Rubinstein pops in for a few scenes.

Yet half of the cast looks downright befuddled to even be there. Some try hard. I’m convinced that someday Johnson will do something magical on screen. But here he looks like he doesn’t know what to do with the little he’s been given. Christopher Lambert mostly looks around and makes a face. I’m sure that was infinitely more than the screenplay told him to do. The other half of the cast looks like they’re having a laugh. I’m convinced Moore was in on the joke the whole time, whatever the joke was.

Kelly is juggling a lot of balls in the air with Southland Tales. He’s aiming for political satire, with a healthy dose of science fiction. The problem is that the film isn’t particularly funny, just weird and awkward. The political elements aren’t especially biting, either. Did you know our civil liberties are being sabotaged? I read Time magazine, too!

One thing that should be noted: Despite misgivings, Southland Tales is indeed watchable. It is, by turns, fascinating, frustrating, dangerous, hilarious, embarrassing, and remarkable. And it is completely awful. It’s up for debate whether it’s a cult classic in the making or something that the cinematic world will attempt to forget. I claim the former.

Grade: D+

Posted by The Artful Lodger at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)