Dec
31st
Mon
31st
Salon | McEwan's "Atonement" comes alive onscreen in a sensitive, insightful adaptation
Wasn’t sure I wanted to see this movie. I’m an Ian McEwan fan and I enjoyed ATONEMENT but it’s one of those books I wouldn’t care to reread. Nearly all of McEwan’s novels are disturbing on some level, but I had a particularly strong reaction to this one. I couldn’t stand Briony from the start, and my dislike for her just intensified the closer I got to the end. I wanted to see how they would do it, though—as Zacharek says in this review, “Atonement is such a beautifully constructed novel, and so layered with meticulously observed detail, that it practically begs to be screwed up on film”—and good thing my curiosity got the better of me. Ang galing ng adaptation, it’s really inspired. Worth the aggravation of enduring Briony all over again.