The Title Of Atonement Film Studies Essay

The credits begin to be displayed and are in a type writing font, this suggests that a story is going to be told. Throughout the credits there is the sound of a type writer, this again suggest that a story is going to be told. There is a contrast between black and white with the wording ‘Atonement’

Shot 2

The title of ‘Atonement’ cuts to a picture of an eccentric mansion. The mansion is a exact replica of Briony’s actual house. This sets the scene as it shows where the events of the scene will take place. The mansion represents wealth and is an image of the Tallis’s ‘new wealth’. The natural lighting only highlights one side of the house this could be a representation of appearance versus reality. The family seems like the perfect family on the outside but in the depths of the house they aren’t as perfect as they seem to be. The highlighted part is what they family wants to portray but the darker side is the reality. The model of the mansion is a child’s toy; this shows us that no matter what Briony is still a child. The model mansion belongs to Briony and this symbolises that she runs the house in a sense, as she controls the lives of the people who live or work in the house. The sound of the typewriter represents a story being written, this is a symbol of the story of ‘Atonement’.

Shot 3

*The tracking of animals represents child play and again symbolises that Briony is still a child. The walking of the animals. The toys may be a connotation of a lost childhood. There is a non syncorised sound, still hearing the typewriter in the background.

Shot 4

The camera tilts up, low angle shot, this introduces the character Briony. The composition of the frame shows the Tallis wealth. There is natural light coming through from the window,this is a symbol of innocence. Briony is seen doing what is natural for a child at that time, this again links to the natural light.

Shot 5

There is an extream close up of Briony’s face. There is natural light, the lighting is soft and can be seen as summer daylight. The one side of Brionys face is lit up well the other is a darker shadow, this signify that Briony still has some innocence but also that she has a dark side that wants secrets. The shot of Briony’s eyes symbolises a world through her eyes. She has an intense look on her face showing that she is focusingon typing, the focus on her face enables us , the audience to concentrate on Briony’s face.

Shot 6

There is still a synchronised sound, we finally see the source of the sound to be a typewriter. The camera pans over Briony’s fingers typing this could represent that she is the story teller in this story and that what she wants to happen will happen, as if everyone else is just a character in her story. The words ‘Sunset’ written on the page may symbolise the ending of the chapter of childhood in Briony’s life, it could also signify that things as everyone in the story knows is about to change. It’s a closing of the friendship chapter for Cecila and Robbie but also the beginning of a romantic relationship; it’s the ‘beginning of love’ as stated on the page.

Shot 7

This shot introduces to us the name of the main character, Briony Tallis. The Trials of Arabella is a melodrama therefore has a hero. Story writing is such a big part of Brionys life so she tries to see real life in a story form by always trying to create heros and villians in real life. At first she sees Robbie as a hero for saving her and then a villain because Briony believes he is physically hurting Cecila. Again we can see that Briony is the play-maker of this story, she writes everyones future.

Shot 8

In this shot we see Briony wearing a white dress, this could signify that at this time in the movie she is still innocent. The house is shown and we can again see the wealth and ‘new rich’ of the Tallis family. The servants show that the Tallis family is of a high class. The door frame surronds briony indicating she is the main character. There is stil like sound of the typewriter but is also mixed with the sounds of a piano. The way in which Briony walks is with determination, almost as if she is about to do a very important task. The camera is panning over Briony. We once again see that Briony is a very intense girl, with a very creative mind.

Shot 9

The camera follows Briony through the corridors of her house, once again it emphasises on the Family’s wealth. Briony is the focus of the frame because she is highlighted by natural light. There is a contrast between the light and shadows; this could signify that the shadows are a representation of secrets and how Briony is in the midst of secrets in her life. The dark shadowed areas may also be a representation of the unknown things Briony bases decisions on. This shot is a long shot and is used to place Briony in her surroundings, it shows how she fits into the house and how she almost controls it with the way she walks, and it’s almost authoritative. In this shot the pillars seem to capture attention as they can be likened to Briony in the sense that she is such a rigid structure with such intense thoughts, like the pillar that is also a rigid structure. We could also view the pillar as being eccentric and dynamic in its carvings just as Briony is as a person. Briony is all by herself, this is another representation that her mind is like her peer pressure for her actions. There is a lot of wood used throughout the house this symoblises warmth and comfort the house provides for Briony but it also represents growth from the fact that it was a living thing, symbol of how the charaters will grow throughtout the movie.

Shot 10

We see Briony being very determined in the previous shot but now we see her being so easily distracted by Robbie’s presence, shows that she wants and interaction between them. We later learn this to be a crush on Robbie. This shot introduces Robbie and shows us, the audience that Robbie and Briony are familiar with each other, by their interaction. Robbie is introduced by being highlighted by natural light .We are now introduced to the different class level in society in the time of the Second World War. This is shown through the fact that Briony is higher the Robbie in the shot and in life as Briony is of a higher class to Robbie, whose mom who actually workers in the house as a housekeeper. We also see Briony looking to the outside just as she will later when she witnesses Cecila stripping in front of the fountain in front of Robbie. This shows us that Briony always has an outside view from the inside of the house. This is a long shot and shows us that although there is familiarity between Briony and Robbie there is still quite a gap between them in their age as well as where they are in their lives at this point in time. There is also quite a dark grey space between them which could symbolise that there is a miscommunication between the feelings each person has for the other. Briony views Robbie as more then a friend or brother figure, while Robbie sees Briony as a sister figure, as he has feelings for Cecila. The fact that Robbie is highlighted by light and Briony is a dark figure could signify the fact that Robbie is the ‘good guy’ while Briony is the ‘bad guy’ because of her sin later on, against Robbie.

Shot 11

This shot is in reverse view and we are now experiencing world from Briony’s point of view and how she sees Robbie. Robbie’s facial expression is showing his fondness for Briony. As we are seeing this from Briony’s point of view, it is misinterpreted and misunderstood for being something more by Briony. Through the conversation we can also see that Robbie is well educated. Briony’s point of view shows us that Robbie is centred in the middle, stating he is the most important part right now and that everything else almost fades into the background, he is the centre of her attention.

Shot 12

This is a medium close up shot and is very much focused on Briony. There is natural light highlighting one side of her face. This can be represented as her having to sides to her. One being innocent and childlike, while the other dark and full on secrets. The door frame behind Briony can also show many layers just like Briony has. It is like Briony is shedding her layer of her childhood and moving on to a new layer or chapter on life. The layers might also signify what a complex and dynamic person Briony is. Briony’s facial expression is almost pleading like she is pleading with Robbie to take notice of her and for him to share the same feelings she has towards him.

Shot 13

The camera is tracking Briony here; there is a build-up of music almost stimulating that something drastic is going to happen. We see that Briony is walking away from us in a way and this signifies that Briony is actually walking away from her childhood and maybe even life as she knows it. There is light highlighted on her back, this could show that she is turning her back on everything good and innocent in her life. Briony is walking towards s well lit room as if she is drawn to light. The room is elaborately decorated and this again is a sign of wealth.