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Movie Overview
Cast
• Keira Knightley
• James McAvoy
• Romola Garai
Director
• Joe Wright
MPAA Rating
R - for disturbing war images, language and some sexuality
Atonement (2007)

REVIEWS
NEWS
INTERVIEWS OTHER
OFCS Rating: 75% Fresh
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4/5
"...without a sense of justice, Atonement just doesn't pay its penance. It turns a potentially magnificent movie into something that's merely good."  PopMatters  Bill Gibron

"Atonement is a fully formed pleasure of a film that only really stumbles in its editing and its closing moments."  european-films.net  Boyd van Hoeij

A-
"Atonement is a sophisticated, gorgeous screen tragedy...a luxurious cinematic cake, furthering Wright's position as one of the more exciting young filmmakers out there today."  eFilmCritic.com  Brian Orndorf

3/5
"The transition from imagined drama to reality grows tedious."  Filmcritic.com  Chris Cabin

2.5/4
"Wright's biggest problem comes in conveying the loneliness and isolation felt by the three characters."  Reel.com  Chris Cabin

"The lingering deaths of soldiers and the lost causes they embody serve as tragic backdrops to the less compelling plot points embodied by Briony and her characters."  PopMatters  Cynthia Fuchs

2/5
"Even without all of this bungled structure and flawed internal logic, Atonement still fizzles."  eFilmCritic.com  David Cornelius

3.5/4
"A majestic and intimate romance that should rightly cement the careers of director Joe Wright and leading man James McAvoy, and give Saoirse Ronan some much-deserved exposure."  rec.arts.movies.reviews  David N. Butterworth

3.5/4
"...it's certainly worth noting that the movie packs a far more potent emotional punch than its literary forebearer."  Reel Film Reviews  David Nusair

B-
"Assuredly directed PBS type of arthouse film."  Ozus' World Movie Reviews  Dennis Schwartz

7/10
"zaslu%u017Euje pohvale, ali ne onakve kakve bi trebao imati ozbiljni kandidat za "Oscara""  Index.hr  Dragan Antulov

2/4
"Profundity is never achieved because the would-be encompassing love story at its center isn't given enough time to build and breathe."  DustinPutman.com  Dustin Putman

2/4
"McEwan's uncanny expression of the intangible has posed a challenge to those who've brought his novels and short stories to the screen, and Wright resorts to obvious cinematic shorthand to communicate Atonement's metaphysical ideas."  Slant Magazine  Ed Gonzalez

3/5
"Podrá resultar más o menos bella, triste, fría, conmovedora, romántica, incluso intrascendente, pero sin duda estamos ante una película exquisitamente elaborada por un brillante equipo de artistas."  Uruguay Total  Enrique Buchichio

B+
"An achingly poignant melodrama."  EricDSnider.com  Eric D. Snider

B+
"Positively demands a second viewing."  Film Blather  Eugene Novikov

2.5/4
"Like Wright's previous award contender, "Atonement" is just a good enough drama with many flaws, but excels with strong performances from McAvoy and newcomer Ronan..."  Cinema Crazed  Felix Vasquez Jr.

"Figurines in a teacup set, shipped over in boxes labeled 'For your consideration'"  CinePassion  Fernando F. Croce

A-
"A film of rare refinement and artistry...an impeccable adaptation."  One Guy's Opinion  Frank Swietek

4/5
"A literary drama about the incredible damage caused by lying and the power of the imagination to amend reality."  Spirituality and Practice  Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

B+
"It's a gift to the senses, with the lush feel of a grand, old-fashioned period piece. Thankfully, however, it replaces that genre's characteristic stuffiness with pulsating vitality."  Cinepinion  Henry Stewart

3.5/4
"The film is gorgeous to look at, well paced (especially during the first half), and by turns touching and sad. The ending packs an emotional punch, which is what one would expect from any movie developed from a McEwan novel."  ReelViews  James Berardinelli

2.5/5
"At some points Wright appears to be simply showing off the dexterity of his visual ambitions to the detriment of the story's emotional core."  Q Network Film Desk  James Kendrick

3.5/4
"Magnifies its inescapable destiny with dazzling bravura."  Palo Alto Weekly  Jeanne Aufmuth

8/10
"Atonement's main strength is its flow, and its cinematic techniques are able to both bolster the flow and occasionally distract from it."  ReelTalk Movie Reviews  Jeffrey Chen

6/10
"A handsome and good, but not great adaptation of Ian McEwan's best-selling, 2002 novel of the same name."  Screen It!  Jim Judy

4.5/5
"As a technical achievement, it's one of the better films I have seen this year. The story is old-school overblown and yet it is played so sincerely you hardly notice its old-fashioned fire."  Cinerina  Karina Montgomery

1.0/4.0
"... the only thing worse than leaving the theater unfulfilled is feeling manipulated and foolish for your own emotional investment."  MovieCrypt.com  Kevin A. Ranson

3.5/5
"not a Jane Austin story, but it could be, if Jane Austin hardened up her subject matter a bit"  7M Pictures  Kevin Carr

A
"No sophomore slump for British punk wunderkind director Joe Wright...If anything, Atonement is even better, the tragedy of the story intensifying the romance, the novel's unique structure providing an uncommon literary twist"  Reeling Reviews  Laura Clifford

2.5/4
"I'm sure it works on the page, but on screen, it gets clunky, especially in the epilogue, which hardly packs the intended emotional punch as a result."  Mark Reviews Movies  Mark Dujsik

A
"Atonement is an exquisitely crafted film bursting with the possibilities that cinema has to offer."  Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema  Mark Pfeiffer

6/10
"There is a lot that is contrived and does not work. The little things wrong with the film add up to too much."  rec.arts.movies.reviews  Mark R. Leeper

"Knightley is exquisite shouldering... old Hollywood glamour... McAvoy positively simmers with the kind of emotion... that old Hollywood trained us to love in romantic heroes..."  Flick Filosopher  MaryAnn Johanson

3/5
"Fans of the original source material will definitely know what to expect here. The rest of us, who can't seem to connect to any of these characters (let alone care about them), can only marvel at the technical aspects of the film."  Bronsonfive  Michael Ferraro

2.5/5
"Defined by grand cinematic gestures that go nowhere."  Goatdog's Movies  Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

3/4
"I don't ever recall seeing a movie that did to me what Atonement did. It started off strong, then completely stopped working for me around the halfway point. Then, at the last possible second, the film somehow managed to turn itself back around."  Aisle Seat  Mike McGranaghan

A-
"Wright's direction and the highly literary adaption of Ian McEwan's award-winning novel by Christopher Hampton give this story an epic sweep."  Beliefnet  Nell Minow

C+
"A lushly shot, proficiently performed, and largely stultifying period piece that invites only mild, detached admiration."  Lessons of Darkness  Nick Schager

4/5
"Acaba se sobressaindo não exatamente pela história de amor que narra (embora esta funcione), mas sim pelo curioso experimento narrativo que se propõe a fazer."  Cinema em Cena  Pablo Villaca

4/5
"It is one of the rare British period literary adaptations that feels like a fresh and vital story instead of a museum piece"  eFilmCritic.com  Peter Sobczynski

4/5
"A skilful directorial touch and a refreshingly smart script. And the acting is good enough to carry us through the slightly dull patches."  Shadows on the Wall  Rich Cline

3/5
"It's the only epic I can think of that blossoms out of the notorious slang word for female genitalia. Reduced that way, it sounds kind of silly, and it is kind of silly."  eFilmCritic.com  Rob Gonsalves

"A cinematic fellatio for anyone easily impressed by set and costume design."  Projection Booth  Rob Humanick

C+
"Nothing ruins a pretty good movie more than calling it great, and with Atonement, even 'pretty good' feels like a stretch."  Flipside Movie Emporium  Rob Vaux

B
"Great-looking film with a weak story."  Laramie Movie Scope  Robert Roten

9/10
"Some of the most creative and beautiful cinematography of the year combined with the best performances to date by Knightly and McAvoy and earthshaking work by relative newcomer Romola Garai make this one of the best films out there"  Monsters and Critics  Ron Wilkinson

4/5
"Players outshine the script"  JWR  S. James Wegg

3.5/4
"Smaller than you'd expect, though many may remember it for the exquisite period detail, production design or fluid camera work."  Charlotte Weekly  Sean O'Connell

8/10
"It's still a great epic drama but it seems to have lost its heart somewhere along the way."  www.susangranger.com  Susan Granger
OFCS Rating: 75% Fresh
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