A handful of people from the crowd got either impatient or confused with the film Atonement and left within the first 10 minutes of the movie; apparently the action didn’t come soon enough for them.

Atonement starts out a little abstract and surreal; all of the dreadful small details are highlighted, making you think “What is this movie really about?”

After one horrible crime is committed, the action, drama, distress, war, romance and mystery kicked into gear. I’ll admit it though, “Atonement” definitely has a slow and questionable beginning, but maybe that’s just the typical impatient American in me talking, ready for my dose of instant gratification. On the other hand, in similarity to many other good movies, those small details and events play an important role later on in the plot.

“Atonement” is a British film, directed by Joe Wright, the same director from “Pride and Prejudice.” Often scenes are shown once and then later replayed from a different character’s perspective. This is a really creative and unique way of directing a film and also an effective way of displaying the many different angles of one situation. Note to viewer, you can’t be in and out of this movie, you actually have to commit to paying attention because of the deja vu-like flash backs. The scenes come together like a scrapbook, an assortment of memories categorized by time and event. Except the time frame jumps around from scene to scene, and it’s all over the place.

The style of this European film is a bit different from most of the mainstream American love stories, it’s a bit darker and more mysterious, which is a nice change of pace. There is also a recurring type writer theme throughout the movie; the soundtrack follows the beat of the intense scenes and the dialog, which was very cool. The more creative and original the music is in a film, the better. Something other than the typical classical love ballads was needed for this intense romantic drama.

The scene is set in the English countryside in 1935, the era of swim caps and cigarettes, where Cecilia (Keira Knightly) Also seen in “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Pride and Prejudice,” her sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) and the rest of her family reside in their mansion. Also living on the residence, is the son of one of the wait staffers named Robbie (James McAvoy). McAvoy is also known for his work in “The last king of Scotland” and “The Chronicles of Narnia; The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

Inevitably the two become lovers. Cecilia seems pretentious and rude in the beginning, which goes along perfectly with her constant smoking and heroin-chic like body; but her character becomes more humanistic as the movie progresses. Robbie is a sweet and genuine guy, from the start. Sadly, as a result of Briony’s mistake, he is convicted of a terrible crime that he didn’t commit. Robbie ends up in prison and then later in the British Army.

Loyal to Robbie, Cecilia disowns her family because of the wrongful allegations and becomes a nurse. WWII comes about and Robbie ends up aimlessly roaming Northern France with two other soldiers. France is in shambles, and the soldiers are in terrible condition, including Robbie. McAvoy really follows through with his character and is convincing throughout the film. The love affair continues despite the separation, but they both hold onto hope. It’s interesting because this movie starts out quirky, and mysterious, then it ends up extremely sad and depressing. Yet, overall the film came together very well, the acting was great, and the plot was pretty intricate and constantly surprising.

This movie is also a great depiction of WWII through the eyes of the English, it’s a raw and uncensored commentary about life during this horrendous time. As if the separation of lovers, unjustified imprisonment, and extreme guilt wasn’t depressing enough, the atrocities of war are also extremely saddening.

The underlying lesson I think to be learned from this is movie is, don’t jump to conclusions and be so quick to assign blame to others. Use your best judgment in all circumstances; you never know when you will testify on the witness stand.

Kate Jones can be reached at [email protected]