Atonement

Atonement has everything that a great film needs , except for the most important element; sympathetic characters. Wouldn't you think that in a tragic love story there should at least be a man and a woman who are in love?

Here is what is good about the film; it is beautiful, and filmed with rich detail. The feel of the film matches the look, creating mystery, tension and anger. The music, piano mostly contributed to the atmosphere without being distracting, actually being incorporated into the film as some of the characters actually play notes on the piano where appropriate. There is one sympathetic character, actually the antagonist is the only character I cared about in the end.

Here is why the film fell so flat that I was actually blown away at how dissapointed I was; everything was without purpose. Almost so much that it could have been used as an inetersting twist. But alas, this film turned out to be a mediocre mishmash of other far better films. James Cameron should get a cut of this film since there is an obvious rip-off of the old lady explaining what happened a long time ago scene. I almost expected Leonardo to come from off screen and give her a kiss. And here's the scene that epitomizes the whole film; as James McAvoy's character walks onto the beach in France, we a treated to a continuous shot that must last about five minutes. The scene shows chaos as Allied troops prepare to retreat, fighting each other, killing horses, destroying equipment, etc. The scene was impressive from a technical standpoint, and reminded me of the bridge at night scene from "Apocalypse Now". The difference is that Coppola's scene contributed to the film and was brilliant, whereas this beach scene in "Atonement" was impressive yet unnecessary, kind of like the whole movie.