"Atonement" — comeback for Brit-lit period films?

As the Oscar season begins its five-week lurch to an unknown conclusion (will the strike end? will the Oscars happen?), it's time to launch Oscar Watch — a look at the odds for the five best-picture candidates, along with a dollop of Oscar trivia.

First up: Joe Wright's "Atonement," a lushly filmed and beautifully costumed period film from England, based on an acclaimed British novel (by Ian McEwan) and cast with both talented newcomers and Brit-film royalty. Just the sort of film that wins Oscars, right?

Well ... maybe not. There's an obvious parallel here: "The English Patient," which shares with "Atonement" a wartime setting, a very British flavor and an impeccable literary pedigree. Directed by Anthony Minghella, "The English Patient" won nine Oscars in 1996. But the Academy in recent years has passed up literary period films (like recent best-picture nominees "Capote," "Finding Neverland," "The Hours") for more contemporary fare like "Crash" or "Million Dollar Baby," or spectacles like "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."

And, despite seven nominations, "Atonement" has limited support at the Academy, evidenced by the lack of a directing nomination for the film (it's the only best-picture nominee whose director was snubbed). The odds of it winning best picture are remote at best, but no other film this year so beautifully explored the transforming power of storytelling and memory. Look for it in the original-screenplay category, where Christopher Hampton — who's won this category before, for 1989's "Dangerous Liaisons" — is a strong contender.

Oscar trivia

This year's crop of acting nominees (19 rather than the usual 20, because of Cate Blanchett's double nomination) represent a variety of nationalities. They include 10 Americans, four Brits, a Canadian, a Spaniard, a Frenchwoman, an Australian and a very young Irishwoman: 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan, so good as the steely-eyed preteen at the center of "Atonement." Who was the last Irish person to win an acting Oscar? (See this space next week for the answer.)

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com