Posts tagged IanMcewan at Cinematical

Posts with tag IanMcewan

TIFF Interview: Joe Wright Talks To Cinematical About Directing 'Atonement,' Working With Ian McEwan and His Next Period Film

Posted Sep 12th 2007 1:02PM by Ryan Stewart
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Critical Thought, Scripts, Interviews, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie

Here at the Toronto Film Festival, I had a chance to sit down with Joe Wright, one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. For the last two years I've been saying good things to everyone I know about his most recent film, a loose and lively adaptation of Jane Austen's classic Pride & Prejudice, and now I'll be able to change the subject to the joys of his new picture, an adaptation of Ian McEwan's Atonement. If you're at TIFF like me, don't miss out on an opportunity to catch a screening of Atonement -- it's the best film I've come across at this year's fest, and it's sure to be a tough competitor come Oscar time. During our conversation, Joe and I talked about his unique directing style, which among other things utilizes stream-of-consciousness techniques, and we talked about the challenge of adapting a novel that was shortlisted for every book prize imaginable. Joe and I started by talking for a few about what we've seen so far at the festival -- he recommends Control -- but eventually I hit the button and got us down to business.

RS: Have you seen the Ken Loach movie yet? It's good.

JW: No, I haven't.

RS: It's got a social relevance angle, but it plays like a thriller. Very tight.

JW: Okay, that's exciting -- I love Ken Loach.

RS: One thing I wanted to mention about the movie version of Atonement, and the book, is that I'm not sure I buy Part 3 -- I think we're dealing with an unreliable narrator at that point. Obviously she's giving us certain key facts, but also sliding in a very dramatic Florence Nightingale story. Do you buy Part 3 on its merits?

JW: I do. I do because of the research that we did. I was very fascinated by the role St. Thomas plays. St. Thomas has a very personal role in my own life, and so I was interested in the history of that hospital, the oldest hospital in London. And it's where Florence Nightingale originally formed the first nursing training, etc. And I was very interested in the history of it, and through research and talking to various people about nursing during the war, I discovered that these kids, basically ... these 18 and 19 year-old girls were there and were employed to nurse these dying men. For instance, during the blitz when bombs were falling all throughout, especially areas close to the river -- the German bombers would just use the reflection of the water to guide their aircraft -- they would take everyone, take all the patients they could down to the basement, to the air raid shelters, but then those patients that couldn't be taken down there, one nurse would be left in the ward with bombs falling all around her, to hold the hand of these dying men. I found that incredibly moving, this heroism shown by these kids, basically. It happened, and that was your duty. I find it fairly inconceivable for young people now to understand the sacrifice those girls made.

Continue reading TIFF Interview: Joe Wright Talks To Cinematical About Directing 'Atonement,' Working With Ian McEwan and His Next Period Film

TIFF Review: Atonement

Posted Sep 10th 2007 3:02PM by Ryan Stewart
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Mystery & Suspense, Theatrical Reviews, Focus Features, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie, War

Chalk up another stunning achievement for Joe Wright, who must now be recognized as an auteur with few equals of his age and experience in world cinema. With Atonement, an exacting and relentlessly faithful adaptation of Ian McEwan's 2002 novel about the seismic repercussions of a betrayal in a WWII-era English family, Wright has shaped and refined that uniquely blended style -- at once as calculating as Kubrick and yet receptive and attentive to intimacy and raw feeling -- that made his debut film, 2005's Pride & Prejudice, such an unexpected and welcome surprise. Much like Anthony Minghella, his more senior contemporary who has a bold acting cameo in this film, Wright is an artist who staunchly refuses to run away from the artificiality of cinema. Instead, he co-opts and embraces it. He does so in big ways, such as in a splurgy and acrobatic tracking shot that occurs halfway through Atonement and takes about six minutes to complete, and in smaller, throwaway moments, such as an aggressively painted three-shot on a boat, with Keira Knightley posed exactly in the center.

The year is 1935 and Knightley is Cecilia, a chain-smoking waif who, despite the advantages of her upper class existence, seems on the verge of expiring through sheer boredom. Her only noticeable activity is her flirtation with Robbie (James McAvoy) who is, he tells us, "not a toff." In other words, his situation is closer to that of Elizabeth Bennett in Pride & Prejudice -- he knows how to move in high society, but has not yet found a means to anchor himself to it. When we first see Cecilia and Robbie together, it's through the spying eyes of Cecilia's little sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan), a young teen whose natural tendency is toward fantasy and make-believe -- a passion that's only partly diverted into useful pursuits, like writing. As the movie opens, we see Briony finishing one of her childish plays and recruiting the household members to put it on. Later, she watches from afar as Cecilia and Robbie flirt by an outdoor fountain -- he accidentally breaks a vase, and she sinks into the water to fetch a piece of it, before stepping out again in a mostly transparent dress.

Continue reading TIFF Review: Atonement

Keira Knightley's 'Atonement' Will Open Venice

Posted Jun 18th 2007 7:33PM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Focus Features, Other Festivals, Cinematical Indie, War

Last month, while at Cannes, Venice Film Festival artistic director Marco Müller said this year's event will feature a lot of English-language films and a focus on up-and-coming filmmakers. Both statements fit with the announcement now that Atonement will be opening the festival, which kicks off August 29. The UK-produced pic is the sophomore effort of Joe Wright. It also marks the director's continued collaboration with Keira Knightley, who he directed to an Oscar nomination in his debut, Pride & Prejudice. Atonement is a war-time epic romance adapted from Ian McEwan's (Enduring Love) novel by Christopher Hampton (The Quiet American). Months after its premiere at Venice, it opens in the U.S. just in time for Academy notice on December 7.

A few months ago we shared the film's trailer, and just last week we got some photos, but neither is enough for us to tell if Knightley will deserve another nomination for her work with Wright. After recently watching the actress in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, I can't imagine her ever winning an Oscar, but perhaps Wright has some sort of magic touch with her. I will have to wait about five months to judge for myself, but Knightley's fans in the UK will be getting to see the performance about two weeks after it shows in Venice, on September 14. Then it rolls out to other parts of the world in the fall and winter.

So far Atonement seems to be the only film officially announced to screen at this year's Venice Film Festival, though last month Variety reported the fest will include a number of American films, likely including Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf, Todd Haynes' I'm Not There and Ang Lee's Lust, Caution. We'll know for sure on July 26. The only other things we know for sure about the fest are that Zhang Yimou is heading the jury, that Tim Burton is getting a career achievement award and that there will be a Spaghetti Western retrospective. If you love both Knightley and Sergio Leone, you may want to start making your reservations today.

Keira Knightley Photos from 'Atonement'

Posted Jun 15th 2007 12:31PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Movie Marketing, Images, War

Now that Pirates of The Caribbean 3 is becoming a distant memory in the summer blockbuster rush, Keira Knightley fans will just have to wait until the release of her next period drama, Atonement to get their fix. Keira Knightley Daily, is hosting promotional stills from the film, based on the novel by Ian McEwan. It centers on a young girl from an upper class family, with aspirations of becoming a writer, who falsely accuses her older sister's (Knightley) lover of a crime. What follows seems to be long-suffering love, class battles, and regret, all the things that make up a successfully weepy period romance. Oscar-winner Christopher Hampton adapted the book for the screen, and Joe Wright is directing. The cast also includes Saoirse Ronan, Vanessa Redgrave, and James McAvoy as the wronged man. This is the second project for Knightley and director Wright, having already worked together on Pride and Prejudice.

Knightley is also busy finishing up the Dylan Thomas film Edge of Love, and we recently received the somewhat wacky news that she was being considered to play Princess Diana. But since the producer of the Diana project has only made a low-budget horror flick, it seems a little far-fetched to imagine that Knightley would say yes. If you cannot get enough of Knightley's pout, there are also now plenty of new images online from Edge. When put side by side with Atonement's stills, they start to look a little interchangeable -- but at least this set of photos isn't going to spark off a round of litigation. Atonement is set for release in September in the U.K. with a North American release date set for December 7th.

More to Atonement

Posted Jun 20th 2006 9:01PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Drama, Casting, Focus Features, Newsstand

We reported back in March that Keira Knightley had agreed to join her fellow Pride & Prejudice alums Joe Wright (director) and Paul Webster (producer) in the screen version of Ian McEwan's Booker-nominated novel, Atonement. After lying dormant for several month, the movie is once again in the news, and its cast is growing. According to Variety, Knightley will be sharing the screen with some pretty impressive talent: In addition to James McAvoy, already cast as the male lead, the cast now included British screen queens Brenda Blethyn and Vanessa Redgrave, as well as Romola Garai (you remember her, I'm sure, from Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights).

Currently shooting in the UK, the film "tells a series of interconnected stories, all of which hinge loosely on the childhood actions of Briony Tallis [to be played by Saoirse Ronan as a child, ~~and Knightley as an adult~~], a privileged young girl with an overactive imagination." Among other things, young Briony imagines that her sister's boyfriend is a criminal, an erroneous accusation that causes problems for a whole lot of people.

Atonement will be released in the US by Focus some time next year.

Edit: Though Knightley was originally (erroneously, it appears) reported to be playing the adult Briony, she in fact plays Cecilia, the sister whose boyfriend is the victim of Briony's accusation. Thanks to Gerry for providing the correct casting information.

Atonement for Keira

Posted Mar 20th 2006 4:00PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Romance, Casting, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie

Here's a bit of news we somehow missed this last week: Keira Knightley, who is now proudly in the "Oscar-nominated actress" pay bracket, has signed on to star in the screen version of Ian McEwan's Atonement. This will be the fourth film based on one of McEwan's novels (several have also been based on his short stories), and this one - which was nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize - "is McEwan at his most closely observed and psychologically penetrating, and his most sweeping and expansive." So there. The novel tells a series of interconnected stories, all of which hinge loosely on the childhood actions of "Briony Tallis [to be played by Knightley], a privileged young girl with an overactive imagination." And don't worry about Knightley trying to play a 12-year-old - the character is grown up in all but the opening of the book.

The film will serve as a reunion (with McEwan standing in for Jane Austen) for the core team behind Pride & Prejudice, with director Joe Wright and producer Paul Webster once again guiding the project. Working Title (which was not involved in the earlier collaboration) no doubt is praying for a similar critical and financial success; shooting will begin in June.

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TIFF Interview: Joe Wright Talks To Cinematical About Directing 'Atonement,' Working With Ian McEwan and His Next Period Film

TIFF Review: Atonement

Keira Knightley's 'Atonement' Will Open Venice

Keira Knightley Photos from 'Atonement'

More to Atonement

Atonement for Keira

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