Atonement

[Drunk Monk]

Got off to a slow start and I was ready to give up on it's non-linear timeline. Whatever happened to films that started in the beginning, went through the middle and ended at the end? Then there was the beach scene. My Lord. On freaking shot. One freaking outrageous swirling chaotic shot. Blew me away by the time I realized what was happening. A technical masterpiece. That made me sit up and pay attention to the rest of the film.

You got to be into Keira Knightly. She's impossibly skinny and British. Redgrave proves herself to be a grand matron of acting with a tiny, yet profound scene. She puts the film over the top. Sure it's a chick flick, predictable to a point, but it works in the end.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Why did I see it sans Queen?

It had a twisted Merchant Ivory feel. It did start off slow but it had a lot of tension. Especially the phrase "Bite it". Yikes. It was also weird for a war film that none of the soldiers had guns. They just spent a lot of time trying wandering through the marshes near Dunkirk. Look out for the schoolgirls. Another thing you wouldn't find in Merchant-Ivory.

In a completely Chauvinistic and sexist way, I'd like to say Keira Knightly needs a pair of bolt ons. Can she get any flatter.

I liked the screwed up timeline. It helped explain Briny's problems.

It's probably best the Queen didn't see it, especially the horses on the Beach. And poor James Macavoy.

I say see it.