Films vs Books

Hollywood is pretty dead and devoid of creativity these days, an example is the constant barrage of films adapted from or based on novels.  I tried to focus solely on books and movies that I had read and seen and chose to rate them based on my personal opinion about the book and movie.

Similar Movies (World War II)

World War II is the conjuncture in Atonement Part 2, that has a profound impact on all of the characters lives, as it did on the lives of those living at the time.  It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million military personnel mobilised, 50-70 million casualties and countless affected.  World War II is one of the most represented events in media, with many movies made after, and also during the war.  It has made a popular backdrop for many highly honored and critically acclaimed movies.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_films



The Notebook



I feel like Atonement and The Notebook have the most similarities of any film I will discuss, although one major difference is that Atonement is classified as a "war movie" as it dedicates more screen-time and has a higher impact on the characters lives than the characters within Atonement.

Upper class woman and lower class man
Female initially uninterested in male
Short-lived romance occurring in summer
Family disapproves of and interferes with relationship
Separated for many years
Female becomes a nurse in WWII and male enlists
Scene(s) in the present day with elderly versions of the character(s)

La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful)




Like The Notebook and Atonement, the female lead is upper class and the male lead is working class. The male lead has to win over the female, and the family disapproves of their relationship. In Life is Beautiful the characters get married and have a child and unfortunately they too are separated by war, specifically, in a concentration camp. The father hides the child and tells him that it is a game where he must hide from the guards and if he gets enough points, he will get a tank. The ending of this movie is bittersweet as the mother and child are reunited but the father is killed.

Saving Private Ryan

Like Part 2 of Atonement, this movie is focused more on the battles of World War II.  I noticed a high degree of detail in the set and costume design and special effects, so I felt that there was more authenticity than Atonement had.  I felt that Atonement adjusted their visuals to have a stylistic approach to garner the most impact for the material they had to work with (although they skipped a good deal of the action on Robbie's journey to Dunkirk).  In Saving Private Ryan, there is solely a focus on the battles, struggles and chaos experienced by a group of soldiers sent on a mission to recover a missing paratrooper whose brothers had all perished, and was to be sent home.  I didn't think I would enjoy this movie, as I am somewhat squeamish when it comes to gore and I had been warned about the realistic portrayal of combat. Although the shaky cam and some of the injuries turned my stomach a bit, I intensely enjoyed this movie and would recommend it highly.

Reality vs Illusion in Media

Reality vs Illusion

In modern media, a common theme is the distinction (or lack thereof), of reality and imagination; the revealing of which usually is the basis for many "twist endings". Atonement's twist, in which Cecilia and Robbie are reunited, is revealed to be a fantasy to fulfill Briony's desire to amend for her childish mistake resulting in Robbie's stint in jail, and the lovers never reuniting.


Black Swan

In search of perfection, the main character psychologically torments herself with her paranoia that has grown from her own fears and insecurities.



The difference between reality, dreams and nightmares is not evident through most of the movie and there are many subtle hints throughout the movie that foreshadow her descent into lunacy, and that things may not be as they appear.







Big Fish

In this movie the protagonist is known to be an exaggerator, and his son has a difficult time believing his stories are true at all. The son realizes at the end that there may be some truth to his father's stories after he dies. In both Atonement and Big Fish the main character fabricates to entertain and to try to fix mistakes they may have made in real life.

The Matrix

The Matrix differs from Atonement in the theme of illusion as the protagonist has choice about whether he wants to stay oblivious to his physical and psychological imprisonment. Briony experiences psychological imprisonment from the guilt of incriminating Robbie for a crime he didn't commit.

Use of "Twists" in Media

Atonement is one of many books or movies with a twist that changes your outlook on the entire story






Fight Club


I'm biased to this movie; I am a huge fan of the use of anagnorisis in the revealing of Tyler Durden's identity. Like Atonement, Fight Club uses an unreliable narrator to change your perspective of the events in the movie, questioning what was supposed to be reality and what is a figment of the protagonist's imagination.









Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back


This is probably one of the most famous reveals of all time, this will continue to shock new generations who watch the original trilogy.

Donnie Darko


In this movie, like Atonement, there is a catalyst or one important event that changes the course of the characters lives. Both movies have alternate realities/ endings and have a sense of the characters lacking volition in their lives.











Psycho


The archetypal twist ending, Alfred Hitchcock's thriller has one of the most famous twists, and has made "Norman Bates" eponymous with creepy.











Plot twists are generally found in most critically acclaimed movies, and some that aren't exactly effective at winning over the audience. *cough* Shyamalan *cough* Twists will continue to be a popular, (and sometimes overwrought) device to catch the attention of and win or lose their viewers.

Good Parts of Atonement

"Good" Parts of Atonement

I suppose I would say that overall I liked Atonement, even though it didn't really get interesting until Chapter 8, when Robbie wrote the letters for Cecilia, one intended to be sent and one that was not intended to be seen by anyone and certainly not sent.  There's nothing like a bad word to catch one's attention.

You best wash your typewriter out with soap.

It's certainly true that sex sells, because the scene in the library is probably the most memorable scene in the book and movie.  Robbie and Cecilia's relationship is obviously central to the story line, and I don't think that this book and film would have been as well received, if it had continued the staid pace and not spiced things up.

I felt that the movie was better at skipping right to the good stuff rather than agonizing over detailing every leaf in the scene, but the novel described the war scenes on the road to Dunkirk, but the movie brought to life the scene of the soldiers impatiently waiting to be evacuated.

Overall, I think that the most critically applauded aspect McEwan integrated was the twist ending, in which we learn that Robbie died of septicemia at Dunkirk and Cecilia died in the Balham bombings.  That the happy ending in which they are reunited is revealed to be fiction created by Briony as a way to reprieve herself from the guilt she had felt for years.

Atonement Literary Devices

Literary Devices and Use of Language


Symbolism and Parallelism

Ian McEwan is effective at using symbolism and parallels in his writing; the careful attention to detail makes the pacing of Part One phlegmatic initially, and the acceleration of events mimics the course of Robbie and Cecilia’s relationship. The vase plays a symbolic role as a reminder of the sacrifices made and the family relationship. The first crack coincides with the first major rift in the family, and the shattering of it during the war mimics the irreparable state of the dynamic within the family.  I thought the novel started very slowly and I didn’t enjoy the first few chapters as I found the author over described details and the writing was excessively flourished. The initial slow pace of the novel picks up and becomes more interesting when we become aware of the developing romance between Robbie and Cecilia

Setting

The setting is of a pre-World War II England; where tensions in Europe are on the rise, foreshadowing the events set in motion at the grandiose Tallis family estate. Whispers of the impending war, and the strained relationships in the household, contribute to the anxious atmosphere; in which the cancellation of Briony’s play leads her to seek out drama to release her from her summer boredom and restlessness.





Mood

MacEwan wants the reader to experience the tragedy and loss experienced by many during the war. He accomplishes this by describing some of the atrocities witnessed by the characters in graphic detail, viewed and experienced by many in the war; women and children being vaporised by bombs, grotesque injuries, and loss of life and limb and families torn apart by war. The cultural and social setting of the Tallis estate endowed it's inhabitants with behavioural expectations for its inhabitants to be prim and proper. Everyone in the household seems to live a tense and repressed existence

This is the face of irrepressible joy.



Irony 

In the double ending, in which we learn that Robbie and Cecilia die; the reader becomes disappointed that they didn’t get to be together and it was considered ironic because it's not what the reader was expecting. Briony’s choice to unite them in fiction was to give them the happy ending they deserved and because people prefer happy endings.

Character Differences between Movie and Book in Atonement

Atonement Characters


In the novel and movie Atonement there are a few differences and similarities in characters that I would like to discuss.  First of all, I find many of the characters to be bland and I felt the characters were more interesting in general in the movie, and the motivations and emotions of the characters to be more evident in the movie, with the exception of Briony.




Briony Tallis


"Who gave you the right to open other peoples letters?Who made you a fuqing detective? Just sit the shirt down. You know nothing.Why do you walk in on so much sex? Do you have a sex radar?"





In the book we were able to understand Briony's point of view much better than in the movie which is understandable considering the book is written from her point of view and in the movie we are not privy to her throughs other than what we see her experience.  In regards to Briony's character, the book does a much better job of creating empathy and understanding for the characters motivations and actions

Cecilia Tallis


I preferred Cecilia's portrayal in the book as well because she come across much more stuck up in the movie and yet more bland.  Keira Knightly kind of plays the character she always does in every movie I've seen her in, and the only times I felt any thing other than passing indifference towards her was during her temper tantrum when they are at the lake and in regards to her fashion sense





Robbie Turner

Robbie is basically the same in both the book and movie but I felt that I got a more negative vibe from Robbie's character in the book, but that could also be my lack of impartiality to James McAvoy





Ahem... Well then, where was I?  Robbie was a pretty bland character, and like Cecilia we are meant to pity them after the incident and I find that they are both portrayed through rose coloured lenses, especially during war time, which is understandable considering Briony's desire to fix the outcome of her childish decisions

Emily and Mr Tallis


Boring, non-existent; but more integral in the book, rather than the movie; as their relationship serves as contrast and the suspected infidelity gives more depth and understanding to the reader about the repressed existence of the Tallis family.

Pip Pip Cheerio

Leon Tallis


Leon isn't a prominent figure in either the book or the movie, other than his connection to all the other characters and the fact he was the one to bring Paul Marshall to the Tallis estate.

Lola

In the movie it's obvious Lola is straight up flirting with Paul Marshall is it far more evident that he has dangerous intentions in mind when it comes to Lola.

While it's not fair to say Lola is not a victim, she did encourage Paul Marshall with her behavior and she obviously had some sort of feelings for him as she married him 5 years later

Paul Marshall

Paul Marshall seems considerably more nefarious in the books, I think this is because we see Lola flirting with him more obviously in the movie and her complicity in the situation is slightly more complicated then the way the book makes it seem.  Paul Marshall's role as the "rapist" is more evident in the movie as we can see the "chemistry" between them, or rather, Paul Marshall's rapey-stare.

You know he`s about to get his rape on when he bites his knuckle.














"He is beautiful, he is a horrible person, he is a creep, he is a pervert, he owns a chocolate factory, he is a rapist, he makes choctails.."