A 13-year-old girl misreads an encounter between her sister and a young man, and it destroys both their lives. Decades later, she tries to atone by writing fiction. That attempt shows that telling a story can itself be a way of deceiving people. Joe Wright's film is about the harm that stories can do.
Atonement is a 2007 drama, romance and war film directed by Joe Wright. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 narrative, 1 cinematography and 1 sound), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, The Shining uses several of the same techniques.
Telling the story through a character you can't trust, because they are lying, mentally unwell or fooling themselves. At some point, you have to rethink what you were told.
How this film uses it
The final act reveals that the entire story has been Briony's novel. It is her version of events, including a reconciliation she imagined. Every scene before it turns out to be a beautiful lie she wrote to forgive herself.
Where to see it
Elderly Briony on television, admitting she never reunited the lovers in real life. With that admission, the romance you were watching turns into a story about her guilt.
Starting the film by showing or telling you how it ends, such as the main character's death or defeat. The rest of the story then explains how things got there.
How this film uses it
Before the fateful evening, Wright shows you Briony's typewriter and her view of the fountain from the window. That sets up the whole film as the document she will one day write to undo what she did.
Where to see it
The clacking typewriter sound running through the opening sequences. The typewriter is what Briony uses to accuse, and later what she uses to try to atone.
Mounting the camera on a stabilizing rig worn by the operator so it can glide smoothly through a space. It moves as freely as handheld but without the shake.
How this film uses it
A 5 and a half minute unbroken Steadicam take crosses the Dunkirk beach. It follows Robbie past about 1,000 extras, a pier and soldiers singing. I feel like it is one of cinema's great long shots. All the chaos of the war is taken in by one continuous movement.
Where to see it
The Dunkirk beach sequence. A single take moves through the whole panorama of the retreat. You meet each new horror with no cut to soften it.
Using sounds the characters themselves can hear, like footsteps, radios or traffic, to build tension or show how someone feels. The sound does more than make the scene realistic.
How this film uses it
Dario Marianelli weaves the sound of Briony's typewriter into the score. The clacking keys become a musical theme. When you hear it, you are reminded that Briony is the author and controls the story you are watching.
Where to see it
The typewriter rhythm under the opening party scenes. You can hear the story being written underneath the events it describes.
Questions
Atonement: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Atonement use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Atonement (2007): Unreliable Narrator, Proleptic Opening, Steadicam and Diegetic Sound Design.
Who directed Atonement?
Joe Wright directed Atonement, released in 2007. CineCode also covers Pride & Prejudice (2005).
What films are similar to Atonement?
Films that share techniques with Atonement include The Shining (1980), Parasite (2019), Her (2013), Fight Club (1999).
