Lush cinematography and lots of sumptuous colour and soft focus (I take it there were a lot of long lenses on this film) play up the epic and romantic nature of this film. But ultimately that romanticism is the picture's downfall.
The story follows the effects of a horrible mistake young Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) makes about her sister Cecelia's (Keira Knightley) relationship with servant boy Robbie (James McAvoy). The first half sets these events up well, with well paced and well placed flashbacks. But the second and third acts drag along without any hope of redemption or deepening of story, thus leaving the mystery at the end unmysterious.
Much of the problem lies in the relationship between Cecelia and Robbie, which, although is the anchor that steers the ship of this movie, is not appropriately built up. Most of the film I spent wondering what was so great about their relationship in the first place. James McAvoy and Keira Knightley rolling around in langorous amour does not make for a reason to care. Additionally, lack of development of Robbie and Cecelia's characters other than anger and lust for each other post war leave many parts of the movie clunky and dead.
I believe another major problem with this film is that the adaptor was unsure of which moments from the book to lengthen and which to skim over. There were a lot of lovely scenes that were embellished from the book. However, the section where Robbie was serving in the war was incredibly padded out. The inexplicably long shot of Robbie and his war mates walking through the beach for at least five minutes only made me wonder how and why the filmmakers achieved such a feat.
The film otherwise is well shot, with wonderfully composed wide shots of London and the countryside enhancing the grandeur and romanticism of the piece. The attention to detail is particularly pleasing here too. Some remarkable close ups of lights turning off or going out reflect the darkness and secrets in the story. The score, too, echoes the themes in the movie, often through something such as the everyday sound of a typewriter to develop into a lusher, more complex motif.
Saoirse Ronan is perfect as the prim and precise Briony Tallis, as is the lovely Romola Garai as her older self. It is remarkable how similar the two are in essence and movement. Although I imagine this is as the behest of the director, I can see how much studying of the younger Briony the elder actress must have done. Romola Garai as the older Briony also brings to life some of the more moving moments in the film. Firstly, in the scene between Briony and the French soldier, Ms Garai displays empathy as well as masking her horror at the soldier's situation. The fact that the entire scene was conducted in French with no subtitles, yet the entire arc and emotional life was easily understood is testament to Ms Garai's ability as an actress (in combination with the director I suppose). Likewise, in a face-off between Briony and Robbie at Cecelia's apartment Ms Garai holds her ground as James McAvoy rips into her for her sins. James McAvoy is suitably charming and heart-breaking as the wronged Robbie, however, his choices tend to be safe and do not build to a fully developed character. Of course Robbie is not as well-fleshed nor as interesting as the character he played in The Last King of Scotland, however, it seems unfair of him to choose boring now that he is playing romantic lead. His affair with Idi Amin's wife was much more convincing than his romp with Keira Knightley, partly because of poor writing and partly because of lesser acting. Ms Knightley's blank-eyed stares and mumbled chin thrusts were not convincing.
Director Tom Wright is young and talented but still has a way to go yet.
3/5 if I had to rate it.
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