But to the film’s credit, I’m willing to watch it again, and can only hope that there’s more to the film than appeared on first viewing.

Atonement (7 nominations)
Next to No Country for Old Men, Atonement marks the year’s other outstanding literary adaptation. Director Joe Wright, who previously directed the adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley, realizes Ian McEwan’s story while demonstrating a stunning command of craft.

Saoirse Ronan stars as the adolescent Briony, who sees her older sister, Cecilia, engage in questionable contact with an acquaintance, Robbie. Budding jealousy fuels Briony’s creative mind, leading to a false allegation that sends Robbie away, and ultimately into war. The heartbreaking consequences of Briony’s allegation are slowly revealed, ending in a scene that suggests that the idea of atonement apart from God is a form of wish fulfillment or fantasy.

An instantly famous, if controversial, long take of the evacuation at Dunkirk serves notice that Wright can do much more than film talky dramas. Wright was not nominated for Best Director—Julian Schnabel grabbed the fifth slot for directing The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which was not nominated for Best Picture—but given the power of Atonement in all phases of execution, this injustice will likely be set right in the future. Wright is here to stay.

Michael Clayton (7 nominations)
A straightforward legal thriller told in disorienting but stimulating fashion, Michael Clayton is the default Best Picture choice for those uncomfortable with the darkness of the leading candidates.

George Clooney leads a stellar cast in the story of a legal-firm “fixer” led to see the error of his ways. His firm stands to lose big after attorney Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) embraces the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against a chemical company represented by Edens’ and Clayton’s firm. Though labeled as worthy of being institutionalized, Edens slowly leads Clayton to see the truth.

Christians are familiar with C.S. Lewis’ challenge about the teachings of Jesus: The things he taught were so radical, Lewis said, that one must believe Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. Michael Clayton is not a Christian parable, and Arthur Edens is not a Christ figure, but in showing us a man who is forced to choose right or wrong while being led into the truth by someone regarded as crazy, it testifies to the power of the individual to make a difficult decision, even at great cost, simply because it’s the right thing to do. Though coarse in its language, Michael Clayton is a film of redemption and hope.