A melancholic drama with horror and Coming-of-Age motifs intertwined – that’s the best way to describe Michael Williams‘s 2017 film The Atoning.
The story is intriguing and genuinely captures one’s attention, but that will only happen if one is patient enough to struggle through the first thirty or so minutes during which the action drags, the acting feels subpar and the whole atmosphere feels somewhat sterile and unreal.
I’ll be the first to admit that I was bored throughout most of the movie and was contemplating bashing it in my review, saying that sometimes an intriguing cover art can mislead the viewers — when the story took a turn for the better. The film, while echoing influences of other flicks (such as the one with Haley Joel Osment in the lead role), became engaging and intriguing, which is why I’d like to encourage any potential viewers to give the story a chance to develop (not easy yet a rewarding task).
The Coming-of-Age aspect of the movie is due to the fact that the only character that the audience seems to develop genuine care for and concern about is the one portrayed by Cannon Bosarge, who plays a young boy of ten years old who is trying to figure out why his parents have started acting in an unusually weird way. Even if there are times when the story can’t focus on just one main character, the magnetic presence that Cannon brings to the screen is what has the potential to save the plot from its sluggish pace.
The Atoning Official Trailer
Jump scares, whispers, creaking doors (a ridiculous amount), and spooky visuals occasionally introduce the horror to the story – but it never fully transforms the film into an effective horror flick, which is fine as long as it remains an intriguing drama with spiritual messaging of buried secrets and the confrontation of coming to terms with the harsh realities of life.
