Atonement (2007)

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A British romance that spans several decades. Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. (imdb)

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Directed By: Joe Wright

Written By: Christopher Hampton, Ian McEwan

Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juno Temple, Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Brenda Blethyn, Gina Mckee, Daniel Mays, Romola Garai, Harriet Walter, Saoirse Ronan, Anthony Minghella

Genres: Romance, Drama, War, Mystery

Country: France, UK

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Atonement belongs to 74 collections

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All Ratings | With Reviews

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TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Stars	User	Rating
9	Leonardis	93 _76th
Not at all the sappy romance film I thought it would be. All of the performances are good, but McAvoy was my favorite performer. It's all so beautifully filmed and made. That continuous shot was awesome. I also like that it jumps around a bit with the time line to keep things moving at a great pace. The first act is kind of slow, but after that, the movie picks up and never stops for a minute. Definitely recommended.
6	Spunkie	65 _76th
Well, this turned out to be better than I thought in the beginning. The perception camera going throughout the movie with added memory recall effect makes a solid ground. The unavoidable spiral of events makes it worthwhile a story. A pleasant crowd grabber.
5	Mohko	55 _40th
Starts pretty well but after the crime has happened it jumps few years ahead in time and the downfall begins. By the time it gets to the ending it has managed to ruin everything good the first part did.
4	KlausGlenski	85 _89th
A riveting and touching story that comes with some very beautiful pictures. An excellently chosen cast which is led especially by James McAvoy. Saoirse Ronan also delivers a great performance. Moreover, sound and score are simply marvelous.
3	Alex Watkins	4 _70th
Impressive; an extremely good period romance with some fine performances and a very creative script (though the credit for that, I suppose, must be given to the novel - I haven't read it) that, in its nonlinear style of storytelling, gives the story emotional heft by revealing previously hidden aspects and doubling back to show different perspectives. The ending is inspired.
3	Skenkere	81 _87th
It's good. The first half I found to be relatively forgettable, but then halfway through, there's this AMAZING tracking shot, (seriously it's beautiful, one of the best shots I've ever seen), and something in me clicked right there, or maybe the movie just picked up a lot, but it started to get really good. Its a sad story, shown in a beautiful way.
3	B.2	62 _74th
The first half was pretty strong I thought.So was the cinematography (throughout). But the second half felt somewhat over-sentimental and manipulative.The ending could have been interesting but fell flat. Performances were decent (rather liked Saoirse).
2	MartinTeller	66 _28th
Okay at best. The story contains a couple of interesting twists, but doesn't really explore its themes very well. I only cared about Briony; Cecilia and Robbie were very bland characters portrayed by very bland actors. The scenes of Robbie in France were largely unnecessary. I liked the ending, but I thought it was a dreadful choice to have Redgrave spell it out so plainly. The score was horribly overbearing and Knightley's style of rapid mumbling can be difficult to comprehend.
2	cambel	89 _93rd
Joe Wright is irritatingly talented and innovative.
2	spamminator	70 _62nd
At times brilliant. I just wish that it didn't get so bogged down with Venessa Redgrave explaining the "message" to the audience.
2	SomewhatItay	55 _30th
A British crowd-pleaser with American production value, this interesting film deserved a better director. It does a fine job on a technical level, and has some flourishes of directorial wit, but they're contrived and random. All of it just doesn't sum up to an artistic whole, or some kind of identity or world view that isn't the original book author's.
2	PeaceAnarchy	77 _51st
A great first hour is followed by a rather clumsy 40 minutes and a misfire of an ending. The performances are very good as is the direction, both of which keep you watching while the movie completely loses focus in the second half. While the ending could have been interesting the way it's presented makes it feel very manipulative, with an overbearing score and very slow blatant exposition.
2	Icarus	40 _8th
The storytelling was creative, but the only character I really cared about was Briony. I get frustrated with movies that seem to need characters to do an excessive number of foolish things just to make the plot work, and that was the case here. And while the celebrated long shot was certainly a technical achievement, it was out of place and showy, taking me out of the film completely--though I was already on my way out by that point.
2	constantine	87 _91st
One of the bests of '07. Although story flows slowly and there are some problems in script, it's still great piece of art. Cinematography is amazing, Saoirse Ronan is amazing, story is fascinating.. Even Keira is great! It was such a shame that Joe Wright wasn't nominated in Academy Awards last year. I really liked it, however I doubt that most of the people do so..
2	McHale	2 _0th
Spoiler: Personally I wouldn't believe the old lady at the end when she says she's dying, and this last book she wrote is a true story. Since the whole movie before that was about her lies.
1	Kavu	64 _37th
The cinematography is great, but the script, which already has some weak points early on, just gets worse as the movie goes on and the ending is bad and out of style.
1	Pickpocket	7 _68th
The first half was excellent but it really falls apart at the end. The script needed major rewrites but goddamn if it isn't a pretty thing to look at. Also, Keira Knightley acts as well as a board.
1	angrypierre	75 _61st
Doesn't half go on a bit. I can see why this got so many rave reviews, and there's some breathtaking cinematography going on, but the story, while being tragically romantic, doesn't really go anywhere that I wanted to go, or that I didn't kind of expect.
1	Bunyas	82 _89th
In one of the best movies of 2007. Dramatically emotional and sensible... Atonement, director Joe Wright's masterwork. An excellent production...
1	Suture Self	7 _67th
The tracking scene at Dunkirk is fantastic.
1	TedDedon	92 _88th
Joe Wright gets it done right for the first time in his career with Atonement. It's an incredibly well-shot and well-edited film with some of the most beautiful backdrops and locations I've seen in a long time. It has been years since there was a period romance that was of this quality. There's really nothing but gold here. If you're looking for the year's best, this may very well take the prize come Oscar time. It's simply a remarkable movie that I recommend wholeheartedly.
1	Tripwyre	86 _87th
A pleasant surprise given its packaged a bit like stuffy boring Oscar-bait a la English Patient. The long shot of the beach at Dunkirk rivals the war scene in Children of Men in terms of technical accomplishments -- everything about this movie is top shelf, from the cinematography to the score, and especially the acting. Wright flashes a strong directorial prowess, and the ending packs an unforgettable punch. It's a clear runner-up in a strong year, but definitely not to be missed.
1	st_fly	91 _96th
A beautiful period drama about the love between a rich girl and her family servant's son, and her younger sister's lie that tears their lives apart, and how their love survives against all odds through spite and war. Its a beautiful film, definitely recommended for owning on DVD.
1	strangepants	80 _93rd
Brilliant! Plenty to admire on screen and plenty to think about, even after the film is over.
1	chakravo	70 _37th
A tad too long....but Keira Knightely and James McAvoy are sexy as hell. God I love awkward, repressed British sexuality!
1	chrisaugust	50 _15th
That eight hour tracking shot was one of the best naps I've ever teken.
1	Luna6ix	82 _80th
After the pretty, albiet slow and boring, first half hour, it picks up and enters an actual plot. The middle and end are even more-so dazzling and beautiful and by the end I even began to appreciate the beginning. Had this movie actually has war scenes in it, included war-fare it would have been rated much better. As it stands it is beautiful, but not quite the depiction the era and place deserves.
1	whatismyname	85 _97th
Highly recommend watching this. Great performance by the lead actors, especially Saoirse Ronan as the 13 year old Briony Tallis. What one person sees with their own eyes does not necessarily make it true, and Atonement does a marvelous job depicting this.
1	Angliche92	74 _50th
Knightley stunning as always. Mcvoy doing the job. Nice but sometimes irritating soundtrack. Nice pictures, sometimes reminded me of J.S Sargent paintings, and sometimes of Monnet. Not a must see, but definitly entertaining.
1	Zealot185	61 _42nd
Feels like Titanic-lite. The beginning 45 minutes sets up what could be a really strong love story, but then there was really nothing exciting about the rest of the movie to keep my attention.
1	TV+Film-Hub	5 _28th
I would like to say this film petered out, but I can't honestly say it ever picked up enough to peter out in the end.
1	INDYATMN	74 _36th
Enthralling first half; boring, meandering (one of the most excruciating - in the try-to-keep-from-dozing-off sense - war-is-hell scenes in cinema) plodding and heavy-handed second half. A film that asks the audiences to remain interested in a story about a grown woman flagellating herself for a lie she made as a child and the couple who still hate her for it. It all makes sense, mind you, it's just more than a little tiresome. Sh-t happens and little kids tell lies. What are you gonna do?
1	Langelund (CinemaZone.dk)	95 _97th
Epic yet intimate, 'Atonement' is a both timeless and haunting dissection of the hardship of passion, the many faces of truth and the quest for redemption. Though technically flawless - in particular the stunning cinematography, score and costumes could all be viewed as separate pieces of first class art - the shiniest gem is the truly spectacular Saoirse Ronan providing the breakthrough of the decade.
1	Silver	7 _76th
Too boring, but I don't mind - the heartbreaking Elegy for Dunkirk by Dario Mariannelli made the long shot on the beach undoubtedly the best cinematic moment for 2007.
1	begoniabol	73 _67th
A pretty film with a actually a good performance of Knightly. Some really beautiful shots, like the one on the beach is quite impressive. I wanted to watch this movie when I read my grampa's diary, during the time when he was in the army. He wrote some things in a very casual manner, when it's actually quite shocking. Unfortunately this movie is more based around romance, and not much of the war itself. Still it gave me a good impression of how it might've been
1	burkayadalig	90 _88th
The cinematography in the first act is brilliant however its a bit slow paced and cant give us the full foresight of whats to come. (it still has one of the best `i love you` - `i love you` scenes I`ve ever seen in my life) Then comes the second and last acts which are truly moving and powerful. The 4-5 minutes single shot on the beach is truly impressive. Nice to see Vanessa Redgrave at the end but I`d rather prefer she didn't summarize the whole movie`s message in `Atonement for Dummies` style
1	Matthew Parkinson (CineMarter)	30 _17th
I really didn't like Atonement. It was one of the more disappointing films that I've seen, and I didn't even know anything about it going in, meaning I didn't set my expectations very high. It was just a really poor film. The story was boring, the ending angered me, and the characters were dull and unlikable. Almost nothing of the film was of any worth, and save for the one scene that Vanessa Redgrave, I was completely bored while watching it.
1	fra paolo	28 _19th
This was a disappointing film. It's full of tricks, using time-shifts, an impressively long tracking shot, multiple actors in the same role and, significantly, a typewriter in the soundtrack to underscore the power-relations between film-makers and film audience. In a film that's main plot point hinges on the British class system (or does it?), this surely seems profound--except it seemed annoyingly facile.
1	TheEscapist	71 _52nd
Well made film, but it feels a bit artificial or fabricated. The acting and the script could and should have been better for this to truly be a good film, though I wouldn't say it's a bad film.
1	anilscn	72 _84th
ben bunu niye beğenir gibi oldum. abartılı tesadüfler olmasa harbi taş gibi film.
1	Yoshinaruto	55 _32nd
Sets up nicely in the first half, but the second half strikes a completely different tone with a much slower pacing. It’s not the most enjoyable, but it’s well made, well acted (including a career starting performance from Ronan), and most notably in my opinion, it has a very interesting and unique score.

Average Percentile 59.29% from 5397 Ratings