09.19.07
Atonement
Went off to Liffey Valley with the sister last night. What a lovely cinema, but in a wasteland.
I had really enjoyed the book up until the double ending revelation. I was furious. Well, frustrated. Anyway, I headed off to the movie with some reservations.
It was brilliant. Beautifully produced and with wonderful acting. Saoirse Ronan who played the young Briony was excellent as were the other children. I thought she made Briony’s actions very understandable. And the adults didn’t help themselves by ignoring her obvious distress. Robbie was brilliant and of course Vanessa Redgrave had a small part but was so moving. The only irritation was Kiera Knightly, or rather Kiera Knightly’s jaw.
She is lovely. The Helena Bonham Carter of the noughties. The jaw is slightly overshot but I’d forgive that if she didn’t ACT with it. Her style is quite restrained, which is good. But she appears to express all her emotion, from anger to passion to sadness, through her chin. She tenses it, juts it out, clenches her teeth. All the smoking didn’t help. What is that about? Still nice dress though. And just goes to show you don’t need tits to look good. In fact, she makes tits look common.
Langerdan said,
September 19, 2007 at 3:09 pm
‘And just goes to show you don’t need tits to look good’.
Just imagine how much better looking she’d be if she had, as you say, tits.
In what way is it a wasteland?
AnnaB said,
September 19, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Is it any wonder that German guy said we were coarse. What’s wrong with calling them breasts? Tits is so… English lad-mag.
leon said,
September 19, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Agree the hollow consumer hole, like the one in our modern irish hearts.
lets not slag tits, tits are the cure of many a mans ills, which reminds me where did I leave my copy of Front,
Sarah said,
September 19, 2007 at 4:13 pm
LV a wasteland cos nuttin else around it – nowhere nice to go for a coffee or something to eat afterwards.
Tits is totally legit term now since Trinny and Susannah reclaimed it.
Tomaltach said,
September 19, 2007 at 4:17 pm
AnnaB – but tits is just one of the most perfect word fits. It rolls effortlessly off (and sometimes on) the lips. Breasts are what you get with your chips. And as for boobs – strictly that’s a term my mother would use. But certainly the word diddies doesn’t do a bad job of conveying the wobbly joy found in most tits. By the way, what is the most appropriate collective noun : “set of”, “pair of”. In boyland both of these collective forms are only ever used when preceded by the adjective nice.
Primal Sneeze said,
September 19, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Tits works. Who ever heard any girl say I’ve a pain in me breasts with this fekin job?
Ciaran Buckley said,
September 19, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Wasn’t the hero in Atonement also the anti-hero in the Last King of Scotland? In Atonement he didn’t deserve to die, but the did. In the Last King of Scotland he probably *did* deserve to die, but didn’t. Nothing like a bit of symmetry (sp?) in your movie roles.
Paul Newton said,
September 19, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I saw the movie last week and loved it… I think you are very unfair to Keira, who may not be the best actress in the world of cinema, but was very good in this, she is only a kid and is getting better every day.
I’ve just found out the James McAvoy is actually married to Anne Marie Duff, thats so lovely… I remember being so touched by their performances in Shameless and wondering if they really got it on in real life….So Fiona married James (who is 9 years her junior)… it’s like finding out that there really was a Kirrin Island…I’m so happy… Her Fiona in Shameless is the only person in life or fiction who I would run away with without even filling a suitcase, even though her father is from Meath.
As for your use of that word, I grew up milking cows by hand, so I’ve handled more tits than Magic Johnson… but using that word to describe breasts is just gross.
dc said,
September 20, 2007 at 2:38 am
Keira does get a hard time about her chin and her lack of curves. I think she’s amazingly level headed not to troubled by all the bitchy comments in the media. She is only 22 year old for Christ sake! Remember what it was like to be confused and insecure and 22 ? I do. Give her a break..
Another thought: why are women who are with younger men commented on, when its never remarked on when its the other way around? Seems like double standards. Aren’t we past that now?
btw, I do agree that James McAvoy and Anne Marie Duff do make a lovely pair. They’re both gifted actors who are honing their skills. Just wish Anne Marie gets a chance to appear in films too.
And I do plan to see Atonement. Although I’m not sure Keira will end up being a top drawer Brit actor, she was good in Pride and Prejudice (altho lousy in the Pirates trilogy). I much prefer Kate Winslett, who’s hardly done a dud role in her career so far.
Sarah said,
September 20, 2007 at 9:25 am
Kiera is an actress and if I pay money I am entitled to critique her performance. Her over-acting with the jaw is just like Tom Cruise’s propensity to act with his mouth open all the time or Jack Nicholson being Jack Nicholson regardless of what role he is supposed to be playing. It’s not bitchy. And her age is irrelevant so she doesn’t deserve a break – she deserves an honest appraisal.
As for tits, I refer to my own in those terms. It’s jokey and lighthearted and I was complimenting her. So that’s not bitchy either.
Godiva said,
September 20, 2007 at 11:06 am
Went to see Two nights in Paris last night. Julie Delpy.. now there’s a girl who plays herself. Good fun but similar in tone and atmosphere to Before Sunrise and Before Sunset which I preferred.
Delpy bugged me a little with her cutesy accent/observations, would have been better if she got a different actress for the role. She wrote and directed so a little distance might have helped. OTOH, I liked that she is a realistic looking full-figured woman who is not trying to look 19.
Breast is best. Sexy, sensual word – a bit like cock maybe.
leon said,
September 20, 2007 at 11:13 am
Back to tits, do you know that some lads mags get 1000 latters from women a week with pictures of them in naked or lingerie. Some lucky lad got the plum job in journalism there. So much for feminism then; sex to buy love, fortunate its a two way transaction.
How do you act with a chin? How does see rearrange her chin to convey emotions?
When was the last time a TD addressed the importance of the bossom to the metal wellbeing of society? well at least 60 % of it anyway. They should employ some consultants to look into it.
Sarah said,
September 20, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Well I used breast around the children because the use of tits is all about context. In a posh totty, educated, knowing, feministy, ironic way, tits is fine.
You act with a chin when you tense it according to emotion. I could demonstrate it person. Its quite easy. Perhaps if she’s taught not to do it, then she would be self conscious and lose whatever it is that she has. And she has something. She was perfect for that role.
Paul Newton said,
September 20, 2007 at 2:36 pm
in a “posh totty, educated, knowing, feministy, ironic way”
Now why am I thinking about Fiona in Glenroe when I should be concentrating on my work?
Godiva said,
September 21, 2007 at 11:30 am
Have no idea why you fixated on KK’s chin. Try as I might, I couldn’t see anything off-putting about it. Nor could I see any evidence that her jaw is overshot. Is it any wonder so many movie stars become neurotic.
Was this totally fictional? Overall left me with a sense of how much Briony must have suffered in life because of a mistake made so young. And how she endured. Some people have f’ing awful lives and they just get on with it.
Also occurred to me, if the library scene were to happen today, most likely scenario is he’d pretend it never happened. She’d believe it portended a great love affair and he’d ignore her for ever more.