Atonement (2007)

	Directed by: Joe Wright	COUNTRY UK/France GENRE Drama/Mystery NORWEGIAN TITLE Om forlatelse RUNNING TIME 123 minutes
	Produced by: Tim Bevan Eric Fellner Paul Webster
	Written by (based on the novel by Ian McEwan): Christopher Hampton

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Robbie Turner	James McAvoy
Cecilia Tallis	Keira Knightley	½
Briony Tallis – Age 13	Saoirse Ronan
Lola Quincey	Juno Temple
Briony Tallis – Age 18	Romola Garai
Paul Marshall	Benedict Cumberbatch
Grace Turner	Brenda Blethyn
Emily Tallis	Harriet Walter
Leon Tallis	Patrick Kennedy
Nettle	Daniel Mays
Frank Mace	Nonso Anozie
Luc Cornet	Jérémie Renier
Older Briony	Vanessa Redgrave
Interviewer	Anthony Minghella

Review

The technically dazzling Atonement is heightened by delicate photography, stunning make-up, and an innovative musical score by Academy Award winner Dario Marianelli. The direction, by Joe Wright, also has merit, but despite some good moments (e.g. the four-minute sequence on the beach of Dunkirk), the uncustomary narrative structure distances us from the emotional impact of the story. The purpose, of course, is to enhance the mystery – or rather, to create a mystery of what is essentially a classic tragedy. Granted, it is well-written, full of interesting aspects of oppressed sexuality and painful soul-searching – which ultimately aren't explored well enough. When Wright gives his segments time to breathe and mature, such as in the depiction of a few crucial events early on from two contrasting points of view, Atonement is encompassing. And the performances by James McAvoy and Saoirse Ronan deserve a more thorough examination. Keira Knightley, on the other hand, looks like an anorectic 21st-century model – in other words, an anachronism. It makes her Cecilia Tallis hard to believe as a 1930s miss, but Knightley still delivers in the challenging dramatic scenes – of which, alas, there are too few.