Directed by:
Joe WrightScreenplay:
Christopher HamptonCinematography:
Seamus McGarveyComposer:
Dario MarianelliCast:
James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Romola Garai, Saoirse Ronan, Vanessa Redgrave, Brenda Blethyn, Juno Temple, Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Kennedy (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
On the hottest day of the summer of 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching Cecilia is their housekeeper's son Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), a childhood friend who, along with Briony's sister, has recently graduated from Cambridge. By the end of that day the lives of all three will have been changed forever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had never before dared to approach and will have become victims of the younger girl's scheming imagination, and Briony will have committed a dreadful crime, the guilt for which will colour her entire life. (Universal Pictures UK)
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Reviews (15)
It's all point-of-view shots, things are made subjective, and it has a fragmented narrative, hypothesis, flashbacks, and flash-forwards (maybe even front-flashes, but I'm not going to segment that for you)... But hell with all that. When in the end it's all washed away by the perfection of Vanessa Redgrave's performance, I even end up believing it's 1935 given Keira Knightley’s performance.
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It is surprising that at a time when filmmakers sully one quality book after another that for several years now, adaptations of the works of Ian McEwan have been successful, that you very much. Each of the five adaptations of his works so far worked well and three of them very well. And that includes Atonement which, while not being his best, is McEwan’s best known novel. Joe Wright is growing into a big name of contemporary cinema. And if you think that McAvoy is just a pretty boy with a sexy accent, this movie will set you right. You don’t often see so many powerful scenes linked together into one effective whole that works on several levels at once. And the fact that Atonement just happens to rag you through all shades of emotional feelings is just icing on the cake.
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Romantic films are certainly not the kind I look for, but I have nothing about having an occasional look at genres that are not my favourite and today I decided to watch the best rated romance of 2007, Atonement. The result is that for most of the runtime I was bored and frustrated, hoping for the end. The direction is brilliant, the film has lots of gorgeous visuals, but it didn’t have much of an effect on me. But then the story jumps to the present and the end shattered me. The tempers suddenly flare and I have to say that I don’t regret putting on this film. 70%
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The king for the second time, and this time in a completely different way. It would be too easy and delusional to compare it to the verbose Pride and Prejudice. Atonement, on the other hand, takes a completely different approach, with only one thing in common: both films are so personal to me that they grow with every subsequent screening. And so, even though Joe Wright the director and visual perfectionist occasionally surpasses Joe Wright the storyteller, the criticisms disappear precisely because the audiovisual aspect in the grand scenes, or conversely, in the intimate ones, surpasses the majority of what I have seen in life. Except that Atonement, whose literary source material is one grand intimate psychological study, is no piece of cake to adapt into a film. Master Joe is absolutely unique among contemporary creators in one aspect: he can guide actors to such an extent that they completely merge with their characters until the screen exudes desire, love, hidden emotions, and helplessness. And I can feel how they scream right at me, and so loudly – and I understand them. At this moment, it seems to me that some atonements will be made forever. Happiness is sometimes terribly far away.
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Oddly enough, I find Atonement a bit more interesting plot-wise than Pride and Prejudice. The costumes and atmosphere generally suit me. I like the appropriate seriousness of the situation. Overall, I feel like the film means something and carries an idea. The cast is good, although Keira doesn't stand out as much as I think she should. But yes, a well-made film that I'll happily watch a few more times. 4 stars.
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Gallery (53)
Photo © Working Title Films
![Atonement - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/162/346/162346999_6d7063.jpg)
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