I was left with a bitter feeling at the end of this movie after hearing the elderly Briony Tallis (Vanessa Redgrave) explain to an interviewer how she manufactured the extended love story between her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and lover Robbie Turner (James McAvoy). Granted, and while putting things into perspective, young Briony (Saoirse Ronan) at the age of thirteen was not only mistaken in her accusation about Robbie, but was also in a bit of revenge mode after being rebuffed by him after the fountain 'drowning' incident. Her twenty first and final novel was meant to put to rest her conflicted heart over the matter of destroying two lives, but her means of 'atonement' at that point had no conciliatory effect on the way I felt about her character. Would that the relationship between Cecilia and Robbie have turned out the way it did following the war and it's aftermath, but it was all a fiction concocted by the troubled author. In a way, it's a story that never happened, at least as far as the latter half of the picture goes, so it left this viewer feeling as if he had been strung along. I don't think we had closure on chocolate heir Paul Marshall (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Lola Quincey (Juno Temple) either, as their relationship further damned the future of Cecilia and Robbie as well. They could have come forward to contradict Briony's story when she was thirteen without jeopardizing their reputations, although to be fair, Lola was a kid at the time too and was certainly scared about what happened between her and Paul. So ultimately, all thoughts of a tragic love story between the principals was shattered by the end of the picture, leaving me with only a degree of measured contempt for the author who couldn't (or wouldn't) take responsibility when it mattered.

Sometimes there are films that present a story in such a way that it makes you rethink the entire film after the first watch. Not that I didn't know what to expect with Atonement, considering I did read the synopsis before viewing, but there's something so incredibly impactful about the way Joe Wright adapts the acclaimed novel. You never exactly know the final direction until the last moments of pure devastation. And that's what I call an affective film.It's not just Wright's direction however, as there's absolutely magnetic performances to dive deep into including one from the young Saoirse Ronan. Ronan plays Briony Tallis, who blames a serious crime on her sister's boyfriend because of her clouded judgement. It's an unfortunate tale of a person bringing their previous beliefs of a person into a judgement call that is far beyond their understanding, especially for someone who is only 13 years old. The other notable thing about Atonement is the original score. The way Dario Marianelli factors in a typewriter to his already beautiful piano score is meticulously unique. It really adds an extra element to a deep film in its own right. It's also gorgeous film to look at, especially the long shots of the Dunkirk beach and the costume/production design throughout. And really, the film is a gorgeous tragedy, something that in order to be effective, has to be directed with extreme care and an original touch. Atonement is all of these things and more.8.8/10

Just one defect is the movie is not fluent. Except this, I can tell that the movie was completely nice with the acting and the cast. I felt the tragedy deep inside. I believe that if a movie makes me feel any kind of feelings is the one tracer thing.

if it wasn't for the upcoming Dunkirk movie by Christopher Nolan, and if I didn't come the single-take shot, I probably would never see this film. I've never been interested in Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina or so-to-say pink novels adapted in film at all, although I did come across "The Soloist" by the same director, Joe Wright, which I liked but didn't have a lasting impact on me.It is difficult to review this particular title. It is absolutely not a war movie, at least in my view, the sheer lenght of the sentimental relationship between McAvoy and Knightley's character prevents it from being a romance, the specific premise to which things are set in motion doesn't let it being a class-conflict centered story, although subthemes constantly pop up. It is to note that the class-conflict aspect of the film is mostly very subtle, particularly in relation to how that event which acts as premise to the plot is being dealt with by the aristocratic family of Knightley's character. Certain aspects reminded me of stage drama tragedies. The title has much been criticized: how's the ending an Atonement at all? In my interpretation, it is a certain character's whole existence, with her being always thorn by the acts she did or omitted to do, that acts as a sort of "atonement", an attempt to somehow even out things between her and the other characters' relationships.I would like to keep the plot as much as under wraps. I'd like to point out that, until the last 10 minutes, I kept trying to ignore as much as possible an aspect of the plot I found idiotic (why a certain character didn't simply just withdraw its statement?). It was those final minutes that provided an explanation which simply brought back things to be logical. That said, the film is clever. Constant time-jumps and very subtle implications suggest some of the smartest portions of the plot. Don't expect Nolan-leveled complexity though. Technically, again, the photography is outstanding, in nearly the entire film. Certainly, the peak is the 5+ minutes Dunkirk single take sequence, but really it is needless and too long to list every single outstanding shot the film had.2008 was a year packed with too many good films that prevented Atonement from winning more Oscars. That said, Atonement deserves the acclaim it receives.