ATONEMENT 

Review: Through a series of catastrophic misunderstandings including Briony accusing Robbie of a crime he did not commit. This completely destroys his and Cecilia’s love for each other and dramatically alters the course of their lives. Their three lives are changed forever. Briony continues to seek forgiveness throughout her life and finds the path to her uncertain atonement.
Director: Joe Wright
Actors: Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Brenda Blethyn, Saoirse Ronan, Harriet Walter, Juno Temple, Alfie Allen, Patrick Kennedy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Wight, Leander Deeny, Daniel Mays, Tobias Menzies, Romola Garai, Vanessa Redgrave and Anthony Minghella
Year: 2007
Genre: Drama, Mystery and Romance
Conclusion: 4/5
Based on a novel by Ian McEwan. One thing I do think that Joe Wright has done exceptionally well on is the scenes at Dunkirk and James McAvoy walking along the beach and seeing all the solders. I found this scene to be very moving. They did five takes just of this one scene but it was the third take that was used for the film. Apparently only eight U.K. military ambulances from WWII remain, and in the film they made use of them all. I did think that the script is well written. Mentioning how good the script is, apparently James McAvoy considered his script the best he had ever read. I didn’t really think that James McAvoy and Keira Knightley had much to work with but both acted very well with little material. You could look at it and say that there are these three characters stuck in this country house with no real meaning with the outside world and they are also lost figures in life. Definitely a breakthrough film for James McAvoy and Keira Knightley. It is also interesting to see emerging talents such as Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai and Benedict Cumberbatch. Some of the themes it concentrates on is war, love, sex, memory, betrayal and redemption. At the Academy Awards in 2008 this won one Oscar for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score. At the Golden Globe Awards in 2008 this won two awards. They were for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Original Score – Motion Picture. At the Bafta Awards in 2008 this won two awards. They were for Best Film and Best Production Design.