Atonement

2007 Drama

A mischievous girl accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit, only to find that her words have irrevocably and permanently changed the lives of all involved in a film that re-teams the filmmakers behind Pride & Prejudice to adapt the best-selling 2002 novel by author Ian McEwan. The year is 1935, and as the summer heat takes hold, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis watches her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), get undressed and go frolicking in the garden fountain on her family's country estate. The housekeeper's son, Robbie (James McAvoy), a childhood friend and recent Cambridge graduate, also witnesses the innocent act. When Robbie and Cecilia subsequently cross a particularly sensitive boundary and the scheming Briony accuses Robbie of an unspeakable transgression for which the boy is wholly innocent, the repercussions of her unfounded claim threaten to affect all three for decades to come. more..

Director: Joe Wright

Starring: James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Brenda Blethyn, Romola Garai

Reviews

  • This is one of the few adaptations that gives a splendid novel the film it deserves.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    29 November 2012

  • This is one of the year's best films, a certain best picture nominee.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    29 November 2012

  • Nothing in Joe Wright's screen version of Ian McEwan's dense, internalized 2001 novel of secrets and lies should really work, but damn near everything does. It's some kind of miracle. Written, directed and acted to perfection, Atonement sweeps you up on waves of humor, heartbreak and ravishing romance.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    29 November 2012

  • An unforgettable examination of a host of dark impulses.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    29 November 2012

  • Nothing comes easily in Atonement, especially its ending, which, both happy and tragic, is as wrenching as it is genuinely satisfying. How fitting, somehow, that a novel so devoted to the precision and passionate love of language be captured in a film that is simply too exquisite for words.

    Ann Hornaday - The Washington Post

    29 November 2012

Awards

  • Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

    Academy Awards (2008)

  • Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases

    American Society of Cinematographers (2008)

     
  • Period Film

    Art Directors Guild (2008)

     
  • Best Film

    BAFTA Awards (2008)

  • Seamus McGarvey

    British Society of Cinematographers (2007)