Green Dresses, Green Uniforms

There are few things that inspire more back-and-forth than film adaptations of books. There are books that never should have been adapted. There are books that are supposedly impossible to adapt (I'm looking in your direction, Tristram Shandy). There are bad books that have been turned into good movies. There are good books that have been turned into bad movies. There are bad books that have been turned into bad movies. The rarest creature of all is the good book that has been turned into a good movie.

Ladies and gentlemen, please meet Atonement.

Ian McEwan's novel of wartime England is chock full of familial strife, sharp details, and fully-realized characters. The book is so well-written that it is impossible not to feel like you are right there (although this may seem like an awful cliche, I can't help it--it's totally true). And the great thing about Joe Wright's film is that it takes McEwan's words and turns them into living, breathing, moving images that are just this side of indelible: when Briony is shocked to discover her sister with Robbie, the heartbreak Cecilia feels when Robbie is taken from her, the stark day of disaster Robbie endures in Dunkirk, and every moment in between.

I've heard from several people that they didn't like this film. They say that it was boring or that it wasn't true enough to the book. To both charges, I reply, like hell. If nothing else, it is a visual oasis. But, really, it is so much more. As far as the players go, Keira Knightley proved that she could act, the world was introduced to the precocious talents of Saoirse Ronan (late of The Lovely Bones), and I got to see my beloved James McAvoy (Wanted, The Last King of Scotland) again. Dario Marianelli's score, which made use of typewriter keys as percussion, is quite lovely and absolutely suited to the film. Cecilia's green dress is ridiculously beautiful. And, seriously, the single-shot Dunkirk scene is a stunning piece of cinematic work. In short, I love this movie, and I think you might, too.

Buy the book through Barnes and Noble for $10.76 and the film through Best Buy for $9.99.

-Cate-