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Atonement
This film is a masterpiece of story, visuals, and acting. There really weren't many flaws in this film that I noticed. The strength is definitely the story, in my opinion, but none of the other aspects of film seemed to detract from the story that was being told/shown on the screen.
The story in this film is just brilliant. It is told extremely well, and the only "rough" spot it seems to hit is at the end, in the last couple of scenes. However, as those scenes progress, they don't end up being a flaw at all. It is really a tragically and beautifully told story and knows how to play at ones heart strings. And it does so extremely well.
The acting is also done extremely well. People say that Kiera Knightley only knows how to pout, which I think is an understatement of her ability, but she does a brilliant job in this film playing a tragic, heartbroken character. Saorise Ronan does a very good job as Knightley's sister at a young age. All permutations of Ronan's character (done by three different actresses including Ronan) are done very well, but Ronan is the storngest of any of them. And James McAvoy does a good job in his role in the film as well. Those three are the main characters, and when all of them can do well, it causes the film to be quite impressive.
And the direction in this film was extremely good. Joe Wright does a good job of getting the most from his actors and actresses in this film (and in his previous one Pride and Prejudice), and he knows how to find good shots to make up a film. This film is shot very beautifully and there are several times where there is very limited dialog going on, but that is okay, because there doesn't need to be dialog to get across the emotion that is trying to be conveyed.
This is the best film that I have seen with the 2007 year as the year for it. I liked the film Juno a lot (and I still have to see some of the top ones), but I simply love the story in this film (as well as the acting and directing). I am a sucker for romance/tragedy films, though. Even with being a romantic at heart, I would still highly recommend this film to people who aren't. It is just beautifully done and told.
Overall Grade: A+
Story: A+
Acting: A
Audio/Visual: A
This film is a masterpiece of story, visuals, and acting. There really weren't many flaws in this film that I noticed. The strength is definitely the story, in my opinion, but none of the other aspects of film seemed to detract from the story that was being told/shown on the screen.
The story in this film is just brilliant. It is told extremely well, and the only "rough" spot it seems to hit is at the end, in the last couple of scenes. However, as those scenes progress, they don't end up being a flaw at all. It is really a tragically and beautifully told story and knows how to play at ones heart strings. And it does so extremely well.
The acting is also done extremely well. People say that Kiera Knightley only knows how to pout, which I think is an understatement of her ability, but she does a brilliant job in this film playing a tragic, heartbroken character. Saorise Ronan does a very good job as Knightley's sister at a young age. All permutations of Ronan's character (done by three different actresses including Ronan) are done very well, but Ronan is the storngest of any of them. And James McAvoy does a good job in his role in the film as well. Those three are the main characters, and when all of them can do well, it causes the film to be quite impressive.
And the direction in this film was extremely good. Joe Wright does a good job of getting the most from his actors and actresses in this film (and in his previous one Pride and Prejudice), and he knows how to find good shots to make up a film. This film is shot very beautifully and there are several times where there is very limited dialog going on, but that is okay, because there doesn't need to be dialog to get across the emotion that is trying to be conveyed.
This is the best film that I have seen with the 2007 year as the year for it. I liked the film Juno a lot (and I still have to see some of the top ones), but I simply love the story in this film (as well as the acting and directing). I am a sucker for romance/tragedy films, though. Even with being a romantic at heart, I would still highly recommend this film to people who aren't. It is just beautifully done and told.
Overall Grade: A+
Story: A+
Acting: A
Audio/Visual: A