film review: Juno

Juno has had a rather unprecedented reception from the printing press on both sides of the Atlantic. Not to mention the internet buzz, the award nomination and the general hum that friend groups have spread over the past month or so. Juno was a film that should have been great.

The originality of Juno's main plot is one of its greatest elements. While there have indeed been pregnancies, unwanted pregnancies and adoption talks in thousands of other films, I personally cannot recall a film with the storyline that is seen in Juno. The originality mixed with the film's second greatest element; the cinematography, should in theory combine to create a film that I would love. Again I'll reiterate that the cinematography is beautiful, the film is constantly basked in the filmic equivalent of saturated scenes, the panning and location of the camera in each shot is perfectly intimate when necessary and disconnected when not, the scenes filmed inbetween those with dialogue in them, are simply stunning. This overall creates a great looking film.

The problems with Juno come sprouting to the surface as soon as you start to pay attention to the substance. The protagonist Juno (Ellen Page), who has acted the role surprisingly well considering the terrible quality of her dialogue skips between being unbelievable as a teenage girl, to cringeworthy at best. The level of "dude"'s and other classic Americanisms get lost in translation, which I suppose I can't deduct marks for, but considering American Pie or Harold and Kumar manage to correctly convey the use of the word "dude" and not to mention believably, it just makes Juno seem like its trying much too hard.

As usual with any film regarding an American high school there is the constant reminder of the divisions in social hierarchy that exist, and by now after years of films and books on the subject you'd imagine that directors don't need to ram it down your throat as much, but apparently they do. I was looking forward to a refreshing take on the American High School, but here remain classic cringeworthy moments. A lead example is where Juno starts discussing how jocks act around other people, and it all just seems too closely representative of an episode of One Tree Hill than a supposedly well respected new romcomdrama. Maybe I was just expecting too much from this?

The film, surprisingly for an hour and thirty minute film, is incessantly inconsistent in its pace. The first hour seems to drag on forever and the the final half an hour where the best pieces of drama occur seems to flash past in an instant. When the film finally finishes it leaves you in an instant disappointment and thats before you can even recall everything you've just seen. There is an unfortunately high level of pop culture reference, that in comparison make Nick Hornby look like he's never referenced anything in his life. This abuse of the pop culture reference, again adds to (and I hate to keep using this word) cringeworthyness of the film.

But there are some brilliant plot elements, its been directed and acted well enough for the audience to feel pathos towards Vanessa (Jennifer Garner) when her husband (Jason Bateman) crassly decides to leave her, and as an audience you feel glad that Juno has a brilliant father (J.K. Simmons) and step mother (Allison Janney) for the situation at hand. There are a number of comic elements and I did find myself laughing out loud on a number of occasions (often the parents providing these laughs though).

Juno is, overall, a hugely disappointing film, its hard to believe that a film with such a good plot can be so tragically translated to film. The main problem is there are just too many embarrassingly cringe-worthy moments, and so much of the younger generation in this film just isn't believable. If you can get past that or if perhaps you find the two young protagonists endearing as I'm sure they could be interpreted, then you'll probably love this film. But to me the whole thing could have been done infinitely and consistently better, and its a shame that a breath of originality got ruined in such an average way.

atonment. the review.

atonement film review
a·tone·ment
-noun

1. satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.
   
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) Theology. the doctrine concerning the reconciliation of God and humankind, esp. as accomplished through the life, suffering, and death of Christ.
   
3. Archaic. reconciliation; agreement.

When considering Joe Wright's first film since the Oscar-winning "Pride and Prejudice," it is important to have the definition of atonement in your mind. As the film transpires through the seemingly simple and instinctively sad beginning, right through to the earth-shatteringly depressing and morose finale, the true definition of atonement can for once be seen. The dark twists that lead from Ian McEwan's deep best seller unsettle the audience and their inhibitions. The acting throughout Atonement, though particularly in the film's climax, is so strikingly perfect that the characters' issues and their own atonement truly comes to life.

Atonement tells the story of a family and their adoptee; depicting their own pre-WW2 drama, the war efforts that the family went through, and then the family's after effects post-war because of earlier actions. The film has two main identifiable sections that lead the majority of this two hour drama. The first section shows the love story of Cecilia (Knightley) and Robbie (McAvoy) unravel; the storytelling almost too erotic for a 15 Certificate film, skirts on the borders of tasteful with pornographic. It is perhaps unfair to describe the actions, and writings of the film to be slandered with the term pornographic, but the expectations of a Period drama such as this are most certainly stretched.

A third character is also vital in understanding the first section of the film, Briony (Garai and then Ronan) catches the events of this love unfold. Wright's cinematography captures these events unfolding from the perspective of Briony and then Cecilia or vice versa; a flashback-esque technique that verges on the point of annoyance, but thankfully remains within the point of cleverly directed and helpfully informative. In the case of Briony, the cinematography is used mainly to exaggerate her misconception of the truth. This misconception of truth builds to the point, of the thirteen year old's discussion with cousin Lola (Temple) concluding, that Robbie's dirty flirtations make him a 'sex-maniac.' Open minds are left to wonder about the extent of young Briony's naivety. You learn quickly of her intelligence and considerable understanding of the world, for a thirteen year old, and I certainly don't believe ignorance to be excusable for her rather catalystic actions that lead the film into it's second stage.

The second section shows the war time period where Robbie almost willingly signs up to the army and can be found in France. Cecilia is back in England and has moved away from her family. The story moves on to the final climax of the story; an older Briony (Redgrave) being interviewed about her latest book "Atonement," for those who have read the book, this is one of the few differences between the book and the rather religiously followed screenplay.

The film on a whole is fantastic, the acting from Knightley and McAvoy drives the entire story forward to it's excessively emotional climax. The story seems epic in retrospect and it has marvellously been produced into a two hour film. The pre-war part of the film, does seem a little slow-paced at first, but as you leap into the comparatively fast paced war chapter, the audience soon discovers the importance of the first hour of the film. Redgrave (the elder Briony)'s acting should be commended equally as much as Knightley's or McAvoy's, considering her ability to take the constant anger continually pent up throughout the film, and have it demolished and seemlessly rebuilt as sorrow and forgiveness.

The film's soundtrack, if anything, lets the film down. The repetition of two main themes, one a piano based theme that for me, was too purposefully out of key that it deferred my attention away from the screen and onto the music in the way no music should. And the other of the two themes revolves around a remixed sample of a typewriter sound, one that at first I begged was just the sound of someone typing, and unfortunately soon began to realise was infact the product of the musical direction. These two themes, along with the rest of the rather mundane soundtrack, did the opposite of what a soundtrack should do; a soundtrack should either complement a film so much that it brings to life a scene, or act so translucently that it is not even noticed in it's ability to fit a scene instinctively. Atonement's soundtrack did neither, on the contrary it deflected the attention that should at this point be ravelled in story.

In this film, Wright's direction is perfect and helped only by the sublime acting on behalf of McAvoy, Knightley, Saoirse, Garai and Redgrave. These four characters produce one of the best stories of modern cinema. When considering those original definitions of "atonement," mainly the first, though to some extent the second as well, you will realise that the film certainly portrays the sense of the word in the best possible way that storytelling ever could.