Atonement
Joined by love, separated by fear, redeemed by hope.
In 1935, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) and her family live a life of wealth and privilege in their enormous mansion. On the warmest day of the year, the country estate takes on an unsettling hothouse atmosphere, stoking Briony’s vivid imagination. Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the educated son of the family’s housekeeper, carries a torch for Briony’s headstrong older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley). Cecilia, he hopes, has comparable feelings; all it will take is one spark for this relationship to combust. When it does, Briony -- who has a crush on Robbie -- is compelled to interfere, going so far as accusing Robbie of a crime he did not commit. Cecilia and Robbie declare their love for each other, but he is arrested -- and with Briony bearing false witness, the course of three lives is changed forever.
Briony continues to seek forgiveness for her childhood misdeed. Through a terrible and courageous act of imagination, she finds the path to her uncertain atonement, and to an understanding of the power of enduring love.
Based on the novel by Ian McEwan.
Member Reviews
powerful story - rielvball
Although the story moves slowly at times, it is a powerful story. It shows how one girls young mind, when given a few pieces of misinterpreted information, forms a tale that can destroy lives.
The cinemetography is well done but can be overly drawn out at times, however the story is strong enough to hold your interest. James McAvoy is excellent in this film and Keira Knightly draws the audience in with her beauty and grace.Great Picture Scenes - LilyandMick
Watch this movie if you haven't seen it yet. It was really interesting relationship building within the family and how they were brought up as sisters. If almost could be a true story movie, although it would be really sad if it was. It was described well for kids curiousity how they behave and how they interpret the love. Not only story was great, but also the scenes they have here and there were beautiful !!!It's too late, baby - comebackshane
There's only so much you can say about ATONEMENT that hasn't been said. It's a sweeping and moving film adapted from one of the greatest novels of the last couple decades. It features great performances and one particularly stunning pan shot in the middle. Some people think it's too long, yet others are intrigued by the final act and by the film's surprising epilogue.
That's old news.
What you need to know about ATONEMENT is that it cuts straight to the core of human feeling by asking one simple question: How do you seek forgiveness for a horrible action you can never undo.
Everyone, at one point in their life, does something they wish they hadn't, but for most of us it can be undone. Whether it's an apology or changing one's ways, there's often a way for a person to balance the scales. But what if that opportunity were never afforded us? How would we go about dealing with the messes we've made?
That is what makes ATONEMENT tick and what makes it different than the sweeping love stories that it may have drawn any comparisons to. The audience, if they haven't read the book, can be duped into thinking this is Robbie (James McAvoy) and Cecilia's (Keira Knightley) story, when it really revolves around the emotional anguish that Briony (the surprising and gut-wrenching Saoirse Ronan) endures as a result of her own selfishness.
Yes, there are drawbacks to the film. It can drag at times and there is too often a tendency to let landscape and scenery take over for too long, but at the end of the day ATONEMENT is able to conquer its own expectations. It is far more than a sweeping romance or a war-torn longing. It is a two-hour plus act of contrition that almost slaps you in the face with its air of helplessness for being unable to right its wrongs. While McAvoy is great, Knightley is charming and the scenery is stunning, it's ATONEMENT's refusal to act on its very title which makes it original and decidedly un-formulaic.
Member Reviews
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powerful story - rielvball
Although the story moves slowly at times, it is a powerful story. It shows how one girls young mind, when given a few pieces of misinterpreted information, forms a tale that can destroy lives.
The cinemetography is well done but can be overly drawn ...Great Picture Scenes - LilyandMick
Watch this movie if you haven't seen it yet. It was really interesting relationship building within the family and how they were brought up as sisters. If almost could be a true story movie, although it would be really sad if it was. It was described well ...It's too late, baby - comebackshane
There's only so much you can say about ATONEMENT that hasn't been said. It's a sweeping and moving film adapted from one of the greatest novels of the last couple decades. It features great performances and one particularly stunning pan shot in the middle. ...