Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #816 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-02-04
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Atonement reunites Keira Knightley with her Pride & Prejudice director, Joe Wright, for the movie based on Ian McEwan’s book of the same name. The result? Once of the most widely acclaimed pictures of 2007.

Atonement tells the story of Cecilia Tallis (Knightley), and the housekeeper’s son, Robbie Turner (played by the increasingly prevalent James McAvoy). Set during the heat of 1935, their coming together and the ensuing drama brings in Cecilia’s thirteen-year old sister, Briony, whose actions prove to have far-reaching repercussions.

With a terrific cast and superb direction from the aforementioned Wright, it’s utterly understandable as to how Atonement has earned itself such praise. Diligently told, with some superb photography, Wright is blessed by terrific central performances by Knightley and McAvoy, both of whom have never been better. His trick also is to get the pacing of the film bang-on, taking his time to build up and layer events before he looks for any kind of pay off.

As a result, as Atonement heads into its latter stages, it proves itself as a top quality drama, with a real emotional punch. Furthermore, it’s one of the increasingly rare breed of films that sticks in your head for days after.

As a result, for once, it really is worth seeing what critics the world over have been raving about: Atonement really is something very special indeed. --Jon Foster

DVD Description
On the hottest day of the summer of 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her older sister Cecilia (Kiera 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.

From the director of Pride & Prejudice and based on the novel by Ian McEwen comes "the best British film in years" – Sunday Times.

"As close to perfect as a movie can get" – Daily Mirror.

"An Essential" 5 Stars - Empire

Synopsis
On a sultry summer day in 1935, an upper-class British family prepares for a dinner party at their country estate. The participants include Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan), a precocious preteen writer, her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley), Cambridge graduate and femme fatale, Robbie Turner (James McEvoy), the housekeeper's virtuous son, who carries a torch for Cecilia, and various visitors and family members. A series of misperceptions, fuelled by the summer heat and Briony's childish hurts and fevered imagination, lead to a dramatic false accusation that lands Robbie in jail. We meet all three characters five years later in the thick of World War II, as foot soldier Robbie prepares for the Dunkirk evacuation and the two estranged sisters train as nurses in London.
Director Joe Wright (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) deserves high praise for translating Ian McEwan's highly internalised, multilayered tale of guilt, redemption, and the power and limits of the artistic imagination, into a sumptuous visual feast that not only conveys the intricate plot points of the novel, but dives headfirst into the emotional subtleties that make the story so wrenching. Whether any of the characters' actions are ultimately atoned for by the end of the film is a matter of perception, but Wright's sympathetic eye ensures that every player gets a fair trial. The young director favours long, lingering close-ups that trace every flicker of feeling--Ronan's luminous blue eyes clouding over with righteous gravity; the tremors of hurt and anger and love in McEvoy's sensitive face; the defiant jut of Knightley's jaw as it melts into tender affection. The honey-drizzled look of the first two thirds of the film contrasts achingly with the tension and seriousness of the action unfolding (and the grim intensity of the wartime sections), and the scenes on the beach at Dunkirk include masterly camera. ATONEMENT is a powerful story, retold in a way that even diehard fans of the book will appreciate.

Customer Reviews

A Very Good Adaptation
Following the success of Pride and Prejudice, director Joe Wright brings to the screen a far more ambitious literary adaptation of the best selling and critically acclaimed novel by Ian McEwan, Atonement.

The film follows the effects of a lie by a young, imaginative girl Briony, played impressively in her first major screen role by Saoirse Ronan, on her, her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and the Housekeeper's son Robbie (James McAvoy). It begins in a large country house in an England approaching the brink of war. Here we see the beginning of a romance between Cecilia and Robbie. The first signs of this blossoming romance are witnessed by us and Briony from a distance and it is the beginning of a misunderstanding that leads to tragedy. Far from being a standard period drama as some, including myself, may expect prior to viewing, Atonement establishes itself as an excellent film that manages to stay loyal to the novel whilst still exploiting all its cinematic potential. Joe Wright demonstrates his skill in storytelling and brings his own artistic slant to the tale establishing himself as the highly skilled director his previous film only hinted at.

The world we are immersed into is convincingly created, a country naively living before the most devastating war in history. The costumes are authentic as is the dialogue, exemplified when the boring names of English war foods are ridiculed. Keira Knightley gives one of her best performances to date as the beautiful posh girl with the tough exterior and James McAvoy follows on from his Last King of Scotland success with a solid, if slightly plain performance as Robbie the working class man living with the aristocracy. The chemistry between the two is appropriately understated as they attempt to hang on to their few precious moments together through long periods of separation.

The atmosphere in the opening scenes is languid but there is an underlying sense of doom as the events unravel and Wright excels as a director as he manipulates the audience with clever narrative techniques. As the film continues his style becomes more standard, however the standout scene of the film is on the beaches of the Dunkirk retreat. It is brilliantly shot as we follow Robbie and his two companions in a swirling walk around the activity surrounding them. The hope and despair of the war sick men is portrayed perfectly in this scene, as a shocking moment where the horses are shot in the head due to the inability to transport them is contrasted by a group of singing men who demonstrate the power of the human will in the face of adversity. I found it refreshing to see a war film that didn't resort to a battle to provide its thrills and this scene is easily as spectacular and effective at showing the effects of war as the Omaha landings in Saving Private Ryan. Despite there not being any set-piece battle sequences, the horrors of war are still shown in a scene in the hospital where the horrendous injuries of the soldiers are uncomfortably forced upon the viewer.

The ending is masterfully crafted and the twist is successful because it provides the audience with both of the possible endings, either of which on their own would not have been particularly satisfactory on their own. Vanessa Redgrave gives the standout performance as the old Briony as she recalls the life changing events. Also the idea of authorship is cunningly played with as the film questions the adequacy of its own ending.

Stagey but spellbinding!
I personally found this a spellbinding movie, though I understand why critics would object. The literary origins are retained through the artifice of a structure essential to conceal the twist in the plot. The downside is that the film is somewhat stagey and stylised, though the author conceals shocks brilliantly. You are somehow aware of the artifice throughout, the reasons for which become apparent at the end.

The country house scenes look very chocolate box, and could easily have been the start of a familiar romantic drama of the Camomile Lawn ilk, but all is thrown into disarray in rapid succession by the use of a taboo word, an act of witnessed passion, the violent rape of a young girl and a false accusation.

What follows is the unfolding drama and the story of the atonement, told in several chapters and centred around the character Briony at three ages - 13, 18 and 77. To give each credit, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave each give a sparkling turn and look precisely like an older version of their younger selves. Ronan in particular makes a magical job of competing for screen time with the likes of McAvoy, Knightley, Cumberbatch, Kennedy and Walter - and frankly, wins hands down most of the time!

The finest set piece is however Dunkirk. There is a single, intricate shot weaving in and out of the huge and complex array of activity on the beach as McAvoy's Robbie and his two companions try to find their way around. This is masterly film-making and worth the price of the DVD on its own.

The denouement is left in the hands of Vanessa Redgrave, and what a smashing job she makes of it too. Fragile yet playful, wistful yet leaving no doubt of the sincerity of her regrets, this is a fine performance.

McEwan seems blissfully happy with the translation of his novel, and why not? It seems from what people say to have stuck closely to the script in the capable hands of Christopher Hampton. The story is opened out but remains very true to its historical mores and morality. If anything, this makes it even more claustrophobic. Perhaps Hampton could have listened less to McEwan and followed more closely his own instincts to create a vivid big screen vision of McEwan's novel, it could have achieved the golden 5 stars, but even so - pretty darned good!

Slightly Flawed Masterpiece
Joe Wright has wrought something quite magnificent with his latest film. It's what Brits do best - superbly photographed period drama with serious actors, seriously acting.
In 30's England in a stately manor, we are introduced to two sisters. The elder (Keira Knightley, looking absolutely ravishing, and speaking in her best clipped tones..) is in love with Robbie (James Macevoy), who is not upper class but been a friend of the family for some years. A moment charged with sexual tension is observed by the younger sister, Briony, is misinterpreted, and ultimately leads to a false accusation. It is the results of that accusation that drive the movie that follows, and Briony's growing understanding of what she has done and how she can atone for it.
Acting, particularly the three actresses playing Briony, is superb. Even better is the stunning photography which is both beautiful and imaginative... although the much hyped Dunkirk beach scene comes off as more showing off than intrinsically useful to the story, as audacious as it is. The Oscar winning score is outstanding, striking sombre, aching and dramatic notes as required, and punctuating scenes with the staccato rhythm of a typewriter to great effect.
However, there is a pacing problem with the movie. By shortening the novel in the section which shows what Robbie endures as a result of the accusation, we do not get a deep enough sense of the tragedy to make the pay-off as effective as it should be. It's a quibble, but one which robs the movie of a good deal of its emotional impact.
This is a great director's calling card, and fantastic viewing on many levels. I suggest that it only falls short of being a masterpiece by a flawed middle section, and being just a little too self consciously clever from the director's chair.
8 /10