by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
A Rated R 130 min
Adapting Jan McEwan’s penetrating 2001 novel to screen would seem like an impossible task. However, Joe Wright shot a cinematic masterwork, bringing the novel to life with consummate filmmaking skill. Wright’s deftly compressed vision of the novel was enhanced with an A-list cast including Keira Knightly as Cecilia Tallis and James McAvoy (The Last King of Scotland) as Robbie Turner, son of the family housekeeper. Set from 1935 through the 40s, this is the story of lies, war, and the things that tear people apart.
When Robbie comes to visit the family, he and Cecilia fall madly in love. But Robbie is the victim of a miscarriage of justice when Cecilia’s younger sister misinterprets a consensual sexual encounter and accuses Robbie of rape. This calamity is the central theme around which the characters orbit. When World War II ignites into worldwide conflict, all the characters are swept up in this mighty apocalypse.
Saoirse Ronan plays the pivotal role of Briony Tallis at aged 13. Her mistake caused a serious fracture in her relationship with her sister. That dilemma was exacerbated by their involvement as nurses in WWII. The premise is about betrayal, overwhelming guilt, and atonement, as Briony faces the horrors of war and the wrath of her sister Cecilia. Briony’s false witness statement to the police sends Robbie to jail, but after he serves two years, the desperate need for British soldiers gets him released to fight in the war as a private. Bitter and disillusioned, Robbie faces the daily life-and-death struggle of a combat infantry grunt. Meanwhile, Briony grows up and realizes her unforgivable mistake. She joins the British nurses corps to seek redemption in helping wounded soldiers. What she sees horrifies her.
The film, like the novel, is broad in scope and dense in content. It’s a sweeping saga of a family torn asunder by lies. Nonetheless, the cold reality of war trumps the family scandal and gives the characters perspective as Briony and Cecilia see first-hand the bloody broken bodies of warfare. Robbie and his squad get separated from their unit and find their way to Dunkirk where thousands of British troops are being evacuated after the Germans drove them to the North Sea. This segment is brilliantly shot in one continuous series of shots as Robbie and his two squad members witness the surreal scene of soldiers killing useless show horses, men gambling and drinking, men in pain or catatonic–total chaos right out of Fellini’s warped vision of a world gone mad.
Novelist Christopher Hampton’s masterfully written screenplay is true to his novel’s erudite but riveting style at building emotional tension that converts his words into vivid images. Ronan’s 13 year old wide-eyed characterization of Briony is the centerpiece of the first part of the film. In fact, viewers learn that the story is being seen through her eyes. When she realizes the extent of her betrayal, ruining her sister and Robbie’s life, she is inconsolable. The war acts as shock treatment, pulling her, Cecilia, and Robbie out of their black hole of bitter past memories. The War’s vast scope and tragic consequences supercede the characters past.
Indeed, this film is a model of the seamless adaptation from a book to film without losing the creative initiatives of both artistic genres. Although all films are different from the books they are based on, this work converts the book-to-film with more finesse than any similar project I can recall.
It’s a magnum opus!
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