I've had Joe Wright's
Atonement on my mind a bit lately. I think it has to do with the absence of one Keira Knightly and one James McAvoy. Two actors who
very quickly became two of my favourite actors from this decade, Knightley especially, although I admit to forgetting that
The Duchess was only a year ago, but I didn't see
Wanted and so it feels like the last time I saw their beautiful -
BEAUTIFUL - faces was in this British romance drama from 2006. It's certainly a film that has solidified in my mind as one of the very best of the its year (at the time I was sure it'd head in the other direction).
You'll find that a good number of the images I took from
Atonement are from the opening half. I think that it is the strongest part of the film and is some of the finest filmmaking of the decade. Not that the rest of the movie
isn't, but I remain so entirely enamoured with the scenes at the estate.
I love this shot in black and white. Makes it looks quite ethereal, don't you think?
I know there's not much difference between these two shots, but I truly couldn't decide which one to use and which to ditch. So I did the truly Libran thing and floundered about before just giving up and using both. On one hand I love the look Knightley is giving in the first, on the other hand I love the shape of her neck in the second. Strange, yes, but you wouldn't have it any other way.
One of the things I think this series does is find out who has a face that would have been a star in eras past and I think Knightley passes that with flying colours. I admit to being a much bigger fan of hers than the average person, but just look at her here (and especially the last image).
I like that this shot actually feels a bit like a horror movie or
Alice in Wonderland.
I chose this image for two reasons. The first is because, well, just LOOK at it would ya?! He's so handsome and this particular moment is just filled with adorable cheekiness. Secondly, I found it hard to find a good shot of McAvoy that felt especially classic.
This scene was a bit... steamy, wasn't it? Sex scenes are generally quite silly a lot of the time and not even remotely sexy. It's like, whod've thunk that two people in a movie could enjoy sex that wasn't all caresses and light pecks to the neck or whatever passes for a sex scene these days.
A creepy moment in general, but in black and white it becomes even more so. Perhaps it belongs to the same horror movie as the picture of Saoirse Ronan walking through the garden from earlier. This image actually gives me chills. And so soon after the last image. Not pleasant.
Virtually a black and white moment anyway, but becomes even more classic now.
Truly stunning. Plus, just looking at this image makes me want to well up. She devastates me.
Picture postcard. Gorgeous.
