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Review – Atonement (2007)

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Atonement (2007)
Starring: Kiera Knightley, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan, and Vanessa Redgrave
Directed by: Joe Wright
Written by: Christopher Hampton, based on the novel by Ian McEwan
Rated: R
Rating: **** (four stars out of five)

Atonement is a movie not easily forgot, for more than just a few reasons. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous (more on that later). The acting is nigh on perfect. The direction is flawless. But it’s the story, the writing, that is the real star of this film.

I will admit that I have not read McEwan’s novel even though it’s been recommended to me countless times. After seeing this film, I will also admit that it’s been added to my reading list. I can therefore not judge how well the novel translated onto the screen. I can only make assumptions based on how well the adaption is, and my assumption is that is ridiculously well done.

Aside from the colorful and sumptuous cinematography, the pacing of this film is perfect. With the stamping of each letter on a typewriter, the story gains momentum in a truly unforgettable way. The music moves to the tapping of the keys, the scenes cut and drive forward with each typed letter. The use of the typewriter works perfectly with the material presented in the film.

We open on a young Briony Tallis, typing away frantically on her typewriter, finishing her latest masterpiece. It’s a play to be performed for her older brother Leon when he arrives to the English manse in which she lives with her wealthy family. What follows afterwards carefully builds to Briony crying wolf. We meet Paul Marshall, Leon’s friend, whom we immediately discover has a dark secret. We meet Briony’s older sister Cecilia (Knightley). Knightley plays her with ease, showing a maturity she hasn’t had a chance to show in her career yet. We also meet Robbie Turner (McAvoy), the Tallis’ gardener who’s education has been paid for by Briony’s father.

Most importantly, we see Cecilia and Robbie together, and the sexual tension and mutual attraction is immediately apparent. They meet at the fountain in a scene full of sexuality. It is this scene that Briony witnesses from her bedroom window. It is this scene of attraction between two young lovers that Briony misunderstands — or rather, can’t understand because she is so young. This perfectly played and directed scene becomes the centerpiece for the rest of the film.

That night, she stumbles upon Robbie and Cecilia in the heat of passion. By the end, Robbie is in prison by Briony’s word, as incorrect as her word may be.

Several long years later, Robbie is trying to make his way through war-torn France back to the beach to be evacuated back to England. Cecilia has moved into a small apartment and is working as a nurse. Briony, who now understands exactly what she did, has begun working at a military hospital as a nurse as well, trying her best to pay penance for what she’s done.

The film’s ending monlogue, delivered by Vanessa Redgrave, reveals the true meaning of the title, and just how harmful a single lie can be.

The Oscar’s are, unfortunately, going to largely look over this film. I hate saying this about such an amazing and beautiful film, but it’s the weakest contender amongst the Best Picture nominees. The only award I think it will bring home at the end of the day is Best Cinematography. The scene at the beach of Dunkirk, a 5 1/2 minute miracle of a shot, is simply one of the most amazing shots I’ve ever seen. It deserves the award for that scene alone.

Review – Factotum (2005)

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Factotum (2005)
Starring: Matt Dillon, Lily Taylor, Marisa Tomei
Directed by: Bent Hamer
Written by: Bent Hamer & Jim Stark, based on the writings of Charles Bukowski
Rated: R
Rating: ** (two stars out of five)

Factotum, n., an employee or assistant who serves in a wide range of capacities. This is what the dictionary and the movie credits tell us about the title. And it definitely fits the story.

The story revolves around Henry Chinaski (Dillon), a potrait of Charles Bukowski, which is to say a drunk, womanizing writer who aspires to … What does he aspire to? The story starts off brilliantly. The first scenes follow Chinaski through his job as an ice man out on a delivery to a bar. His boss follows him, discovers the ice melting in the back of the delivery van and Chinaski inside having a few drinks next to an old man who says he’s slept longer than Chinaski’s been alive. It’s a great sequence.

Chinaski then moves along to various jobs — working at a pickle factory, bicycle shop, and brake shoe manufacturer among others — and he ends up living with Jan (Taylor). Later he’s spending his time with Laura (Tomei) after a spat with Jan. Then he’s back with Jan again, for a few minutes at least. And then it ends.

Bukowski is reknowned for his drinking and womanizing, living in the gutter for a significant portion of his life. He was not the best man who ever lived. I love his poetry, and my favorite poem of his is featured in this movie. “A poem is a city filled with streets and sewers / filled with saints, heroes, beggars, madmen, / filled with banality and booze / filled with rain and thunder and periods of / drought, a poem is a city at war.”

That poem is a perfect example of Bukowski’s work and possibly his person too. It describes a significant portion of Factotum as well. But it doesn’t make the movie any better or more meaningful than it was. The movie lacks a purpose.

The filmmakers intended to make a film about a man, a writer, who drinks and has found a difficult path through life, but a path that he chooses to take nonetheless. What they ended up making was a film about a drunk on a difficult path through life, one that he’s too lazy to step away from, who happens to write.

The movie is extremely well directed, and the acting is very well done. It is very much a professionally made movie. But again, that doesn’t give it a larger purpose or meaning. The first act had me enveloped in the story: the awkward moments, the quirky statements Chinaski makes, they all wove together precisely. The last two thirds of the movie repeated the territory it had already traversed over and over again. By the end, I was left in the same place I started, with no better grasp of any single character, and feeling no different about anything.

The movie ends with another Bukowski piece: “If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like it. You will be alone with the Gods. And the nights will flam with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.” I found myself in love with that quote. And yet, I felt it had no place being in that movie.

It was meant to be a movie about a man devoting himself to writing, everything else be damned; it turned out to be a movie about a man who refused to change and sometimes wrote something. Well made, but lacking in purpose and vision. Bukowski devotees may love this film, but not many others.