Atonement and the Forgery of Reality. and fantasy that casts its shadow throughout the film and within Ian McEwan s novel. Wright

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1 Alexis Ward Iida Pöllänen COLT 232 May Atonement and the Forgery of Reality Burrowed under the shelter of an abandoned building in war-stricken Dunkirk, Robbie is transported by Cecelia s photo into a series of lucid, dreamlike flashbacks. This scene (Wright Part 2 13:00-14:30) in Atonement, directed by Joe Wright, reinforces the dynamic between reality and fantasy that casts its shadow throughout the film and within Ian McEwan s novel. Wright uses filming and editing techniques to marry juxtaposing images into a streamline emotion. Several components within this scene, such as cinematic montage and the use of dream sequence, align with theories such as dialectical montage and Freudian psychoanalysis. This scene displays how potently Wright perpetuates McEwan s manipulation of reality and how its elements warrant analysis in both the structure of its parts and the relation of these parts to the entirety of the film. The first flashbacks displayed throughout the sequence the fountain scene, the passing of the letter between Robbie and Briony, and the typing of the letter are all shown in reverse. Although we have already observed these scenes, their syntactical conjunction creates a new meaning to the viewer by grouping once seemingly innocent events into the reality of their importance. The reversal of these scenes suggests that Robbie, or Briony, is subconsciously attempting to relive and undo these actions. In the novel, Robbie s character gives an account where he seeks to reverse certain events in his imagination, So he would go back the way he had come, walk back through the reverses of all they had achieved (McEwan 247). He continues to

2 theoretically travel backward through places that he had been in France, correcting things he would ve done differently. These uses of reversal, in both the film and novel, although seen from Robbie s perspective, are a product of the true author, Briony s, guilt. Contradicting these choppy flashbacks, the next scene depicts a soldier slowly walking through a flowered countryside before fading into a scene of rows of soldiers in a makeshift movie theater standing and singing. This slow fade cleverly transitions from the soldier walking into the distance as the size of the flowers transform into the shapes of heads. In Michael Ondaatje s The Conversations, editor Walter Murch explains that, at the point of transition from one shot to another, you have to be pretty sure where the audiences eye is looking, where the focus of attention is (Ondaatje 41). Murch believes this technique allows the audience to be able to digest images faster and understand its content. This transition exemplifies Murch s philosophies by allowing the viewer to easily transition to the following scene. Next, the camera cuts to the view of the screen, Robbie s silhouette casting on a black and white image of two lovers kissing. These images, which derive from his current life as a soldier in World War II, attempt to merge the realities of two worlds, connecting the struggles of his present with the tragedies of his past. The reversed flashbacks are each filmed as close-up shots that cut in on a particular action, showing little more than hands to represent the characters. The shot of the countryside and inside the movie theater are wide shots that hold a presence of anonymity, showing a soldiers back, a sea of men, and a blackened silhouette. The images prior to this one are shot relatively synchronically, placing their ultimate permanence in the role of his life. These filming techniques draw in on the angular emotions of the character s mind as Robbie seems to envision these moments from his past as elusive and fragmented, removed of human expression or truth.

3 Without any clear shots of the characters in these scenes, it lacks the emotion associated with the events. In his essay The Cinematic Principle and The Ideogram, film director, Sergei Eisenstein plainly states that, montage is conflict (Eisenstein 38). He suggests a theory of dialectical materialism, that combining fractured and juxtaposing shots brings a new meaning to them. Although Eisenstein s editing philosophies contradict that of Murch s, Wright adopts both techniques in Atonement. By jolting the viewer from one scene and place to another while still allowing smooth and cogent transitions, Wright has created conflict with a trancelike ease. The final scene in the sequence revolves around the overriding love Robbie has for Cecelia, which surpasses the afflictions in the past scene. The camera begins an epic wide shot pan through the gates of the Tallis home and shoots rapidly into a mid shot view of Cecelia walking backward up the front stairs. The mis-en-scène paints an eerie ambience as the camera sifts through the blue and red fog until it finds Cecelia, haloed by the lighting in the hallway behind her. In reverse, Robbie is brought out of the cop car and walked toward the stairs with the close-up shot stilling on his face. The camera cuts to a view of their profiles dipping into the frame as Cecelia whispers into his ear and their faces part ways to complete darkness. Although this shot is also edited in reverse, it existence does not attempt to mend a mistake but rather physically draw Robbie and Cecelia back together into an intimate shot their faces alone framing the blackness. This diachronic shot seems to contrast and challenge the previous ones, revealing the only sight of emotional contact in the dream sequence. In this sequence and throughout the entirety of Atonement, there is tension between reality and imagination. Although at the time, the narration manipulated its reality and violated the chronology of the story, this dream sequence signifies the last thoughts that Robbie has before he dies. This notion leaves the audience betrayed, and leaves this particular scene Robbie s only

4 last real memory with a sense of ambiguity. Murch states, If by some chemistry you actually did remove all the ambiguity in the final mix even though it had been ambiguous up to that point I think you would do the film a disservice (Ondaatje 105). In both the novel and film, Atonement gives the audience a sense of uncertainty. Although it is revealed at the end that Briony is the true narrator of the story, it is unclear what is real and what has been exploited. Wright transforms McEwan s twists with reality throughout the duration of the film. He uses the duplication of scenes to almost disorient the viewer and, in this scene in particular, makes the audience question what is real and what is imagined. People often undermine their innate ability to understand film and the complexities of its content and syntax. Some theories have suggested that this ability has been formed by our dreams. Murch suggests that we can understand cinema because of the fact that for thousands of years we have spent eight hours every night in a cinematic dream-state, and so are familiar with this reality (Ondaatje 49-50). Unclear transitions and jumps in place and time in cinema seem almost second nature to us, and that might be because of our own experiences with dreams. In Freud s Interpretation of Dreams, he argues that one s dream-content has undergone an extensive process of condensation in the course of the formation of the dream (Freud 313). Robbie s dream sequence mirrors this idea of manipulation simply by jumbling and reversing the content. With illogical framing, improper transitions, and imaginative content, we are forced to understand the tacit emotion trying to be expressed similar to interpreting a dream. Only slightly over a minute, this scene jumps between different places and times and has the ability to evoke emotion. This power within the language of film can make one question how audiences are able to interpret and understand so much complexity in such little time. Wright approaches this scene in a way that intimately weaves reality with fantasy. By manipulating and

5 editing scenes previously shown, he is able to place emphasis on the scenes importance and change the way in which the viewers interpret it. The complexity of this scene seeks to delve into the way one s mind might think and dream. It s executed in a way in which the viewer can create meaning from the subtleties within its filming technique and purposeful montage of events.

6 Works Cited Atonement. Dir. Joe Wright. Perf. Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. Focus Features, Eisenstein, Sergei. Film Form: Essays in Film Theory. Trans. Jay Leyda. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, n.d. Print. Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams. Ed. James Strachey. New York: Avon Book, n.d. Print. McEwan, Ian. Atonement. New York: First Anchor, Print. Ondaatje, Michael, and Walter Murch. The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film. New York: Random House, Print.

Terms and Techniques

Terms and Techniques Types of Film Shots Establishing Shot A wide distance shot telling you where or what the movie scene is. This is used to establish the place in which the film/scene will occur. Extreme