Atonement

Atonement has been adapted from the Ian McEwan novel for the screen and directed by Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice). James McAvoy plays Robbie Turner, a gardener at the Tallis estate in rural England during the 30's. The eldest sister Cecilia (played by a heroine-addict-thin Kiera Knightly) is beginning to show her feelings for Robbie. At the same time, the younger sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) still has a crush on the older boy. Briony is only 13, so her crush is quite irrational, but very real nonetheless. A few awkward moments pass between Robbie and Cecilia, but those events lead up to a quite steamy scene in the library. While the lovers are in passionate embrace, Briony walks in. She is quite disturbed and becomes enraged with jealousy. Later that same night Briony witnesses something horrific. Instead of pointing the finger at the perpetrator, she sees this as an opportunity to get back at her sister and Robbie. So she frames Robbie. If Briony can't have him, no one can. This deception wreaks havoc upon the life of Robbie. He is sent to jail for four years, and can only leave to serve as a private in the Armed Forces, during WWII. Cecilia is also incredibly angry at the budding romance that was taken from her. How can Briony atone for her sin?

The power of words takes center stage in Atonement. There is a brilliant musical motif that combines rhythm with typing on a typewriter. Not only does it sound cool, but it highlights the fact that words play a major role in the lives of the three main characters. One important exchange in the film centers around a letter written by Robbie, Briony's words convict Robbie of rape, and Briony tries for years to write a novel about what happened. When Briony was a child, her words destroyed two lives. In the Bible we can also see the power of words (God spoke creation into being, Esau lost the blessing to Jacob because of words he spoke, John 1 states that the Word became flesh in Jesus, etc.). Words are important to God. The Bible is referred to as His Word. We must look upon what we say with much more reverence; we must take our words seriously. Yet Briony attempts to atone for her sins through her words as well, and this underscores that point that words have the power to heal, to give life, and to give happiness. Briony even states that in her novel she gave them something they would have not gotten otherwise: happiness. This emphasises the power of story as well. She had changed some events in the retelling of the story, so that she might atone for what she had done, and in some way make it up to them (the tagline for the film is "You can only imagine the truth"). She really believes that stories can heal and bring joy. So do I. That's the whole reason I write this blog.

So what is atonement? In Leviticus, God set up a holiday once a year for Israel to atone for their sins. It was called Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement). The High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies (after much cleansing of himself) and sprinkle the blood of a sacrifice on the Ark of the Covenant. He was required to wear bells and tie a rope around his ankle. This is because God's holy presence was in the room with him, and it was so awesome that it could strike the priest dead at any moment. If the other priests waiting outside did not hear the bells for a while, they would pull out the priest's body. No one else was allowed in. Now, when Jesus died, the curtain that separated this holy room from the rest of the temple is the one that was torn. God did this to show us that the separation between God and man has been destroyed through Christ. He is the curtain. Through Him we can now go to God without fear. So Israel had to atone (or make reparations/amends) for their sins every year. Then Christ did this, once for all time. So we as Christians now have the opportunity to truly give over our sins so that Christ can make amends for us, and in fact he already has. Yet, we are called to make things right with those we have wronged. We are called to repent, to seek forgiveness of those whom we hurt. This is what Briony's life has become. And we can see the horrible damage that putting this process off can cause to everyone involved.

World War II is a good backdrop for this story because in many ways the relationships in the film are a microcosm of war. These lives were destroyed because of anger and jealousy. These feelings turned into injustice. Isn't that why every war has ever been started? It seems like it sometimes. One peoplegroup is angry at another, or jealous of their land/money/position. It seems an apt parallel to me. Speaking of the war, there are no war action scenes to speak of in the film, but at one point Robbie catches up to his army on the beach after they have been defeated and are waiting to be taken back to England. This is an amazing scene for so many reasons. First, there are thousands and thousands of men on the beach. Some are happy, some sad, some singing, some going crazy, some fighting, some shooting horses, some staring off into space. And we see the devastation the war has wrought on these men all in one five minute epic shot, no cuts. It is truly a beautiful piece of filmmaking, putting you there in a way that most filmmakers only dream of.

The acting is superb, the directing is flawless, and the film looks great. No doubt this will be No Country For Old Men's best competition in the Best Picture race this year. Atonement is a magnificent story of how we hurt each other, why we hurt each other, and how we could ever make up for those sins. We truly have been made in God's image, given the power to create and destroy using only our words.