I searched and I didn't see any thread specifically about this movie. Anyway, I loved it. It was such a bold movie -- it took a lot of risks but seemed completely sure of itself the whole time. I loved the cinematography, the acting, the screenplay, nearly everything. It was the kind of movie where you actually know everybody's name by the end (even if you haven't read the book, like me). That's what I mean when I say it was sure of itself -- it proclaimed its message loudly and boldly without being self-conscious. It wasn't afraid to be grandiose at some moments, or occasionally use cliched lines or camera moves -- everything just felt right anyway. I had read reviews that said the movie was "slow", but I didn't feel bored a single second (except for maybe a few slow moments when they were on the beach in France).
I was particularly entranced by Robbie -- the actor who played him was fantastic. I wasn't shocked by his death -- as soon as Briony said "It couldn't have happened because...", I knew he had actually died. I WAS surprised by Cecilia's death though. That was harsh.
Now that I think about it, the screenplay was absolutely fantastic -- there are so many lines from it that I keep thinking over and over in my head. I also loved Vanessa Redgrave at the end -- she's amazing.
I had a bit of trouble initially with what turned out to be the "message" of the movie (I think)-- the fact that Briony had somehow "atoned" for her mistake by simply writing in that Robbie and Cecilia had found happiness. I don't believe that makes anything better at all. But now in retrospect, I see it as simply a desperate stab to make things right, right before she dies, even if she knows it didn't actually. She apologized to them in book form, even if they were dead.
But anyway...amazing movie. I can't remember the last time I saw a movie with as much power as this one. I think it should win the Oscar for best picture, I don't care what else is nominated. (Okay, that's not true. I guess I should work on seeing some more of the nominees but I judge).
Posted by Fyfe (Member # 937) on :
I liked it a lot too. So much that I bought and read the book (luckily I read it very very carefully and was still able to return it), which was shocking rubbish. On and on and on and on and ON that man went, my word, and he just always seemed to be treading water.
So, skip the book. The movie's better.
(I almost never say that. In fact I have never said that before in my entire life.)
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
James McAvoy is the name you're looking for Tara, and I've been very impressed by everything he's done since I first saw him play Leto Atreides in the Children of Dune miniseries on SciFi.
I absolutely loved this movie. I've posted on it a few other places but, I thought the story was excellent. I loved how they showed Briony's misinterpreted view of events and then showed how it really happened afterwards in the beginning. I think the music fit lock and key with the movie, especially the typewriter effect.
The ending was tragic. I didn't guess that they'd both died, I maybe wasn't surprised in the same way you said Tara as soon as elderly dying Briony said it couldn't have happened I sort of guess, and my heart fell about a 100 feet, it was crushing after hearing their tortured journey through life.
I don't think Briony atoned in the end. I think she made a horrible mistake when she was too young to understand what she was doing, but before she really got the chance to fix it, they'd both died. I think she WOULD have fixed it if she had the chance, or at least tried, but she never got the chance. That conversation in the restaurant between Robbie and Cecelia never happened, they were never reunited, and Briony never talked to either of them again.
She tried to give them in fiction what they could never have in real life, and maybe in some spiritual way it was something, but, it wasn't enough. But I think she knew it wasn't enough. Elderly Briony knew anyway, I think.
The tracking shot on the beaches of Dunkirk was one of the best things I've ever seen on the big screen, it was beautiful. It was shot continuously for several minutes, and they could ONLY do it that day because they had the tide and the extra with them, and they had to do it before the tide came in, so they were short on time, money and a lot of other things too. They got through three and a half takes before the steadycam operator couldn't do it anymore, and they ended up using the third take. It was fantastic.
All in all I really liked the movie, and I'll be getting the soundtrack soon too. I was going to get the book, but from what I've heard from several people it's not as good as the movie.
The only thing that really threw me off was the scene with the cousin and the creepy rapist she later married. When he gave her the chocolate and told her she had to "bite the chocolate." That was just weird and awkward. On the other hand, now whenever me and my best friend see or experience something creepy, we refer to it as "biting the chocolate," so at least we got a new catchphrase out of the scene.
Posted by Tara (Member # 10030) on :
It's not the first time I've heard of a movie being better than its book. Another example I can think of is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The movie is amazing, the book is just so-so, IMO.
It seems to me that whenever they make a movie out of a sci-fi or fantasy book, the book is generally better, but when it's a realistic fiction book, it can be a toss up.
Posted by Snail (Member # 9958) on :
I haven't read the book either, but if you're interested here's an article analyzing the differences of the two.
As for the film, I thought it was good and well done but not great.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Fascinating read, thanks for the link.
Now that makes me actually want to read the book. I keep going back and forth on it.
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
(Okay, that's not true. I guess I should work on seeing some more of the nominees but I judge).