Atonement
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Metascore
85 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 340 Ratings

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  • Starring: Brenda Blethyn, James McAvoy, Keira Knightley
  • Summary: Atonement spans several decades. In 1935, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis and her family live a life of wealth and privilege in their enormous mansion. On the warmest day of the year, the country estate takes on an unsettling hothouse atmosphere, stoking Briony's vivid imagination. Robbie Turner, the educated son of the family's housekeeper, carries a torch for Briony's headstrong older sister, Cecilia. Cecilia, he hopes, has comparable feelings; all it will take is one spark for this relationship to combust. When it does, Briony--who has a crush on Robbie--is compelled to interfere, going so far as to accuse Robbie of a crime he did not commit. Cecilia and Robbie declare their love for each other, but Robbie is arrested--and with Briony bearing false witness, the course of three lives is changed forever. Briony continues to seek forgiveness for her childhood misdeed. Through a terrible and courageous act of imagination, she finds the path to her uncertain atonement and to an understanding of the power of enduring love. (Focus Features)… Collapse

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    100
    Nothing in Joe Wright's screen version of Ian McEwan's dense, internalized 2001 novel of secrets and lies should really work, but damn near everything does. It's some kind of miracle. Written, directed and acted to perfection, Atonement sweeps you up on waves of humor, heartbreak and ravishing romance.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    This is one of the year's best films, a certain best picture nominee.
  3. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    75
    It is an amazing story, filled with quiet moments of profundity and more surprises than you could imagine.
  4. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Anthony Lane
    60
    You have to admire it, when so much of the competition seems inane and slack, but you can’t help wondering, with some impatience, what happened to its heart.

See all 36 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 99 out of 157
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 157
  3. Negative: 37 out of 157
  1. LuísD.
    10
    Atonement is a wonderful film which shows an incresing story of love and subsequent tragedy and a sad mixture of feelings that makes us sad and horrified for the untimely ending of the story. For those who had read Ian McEwan's book, the film appears as a wonderfully faithful adaptation of the book which is able to surprise and to touch those of read it and those who didn't and in the end we are left with this question: if it had happened to us, could we bring ourselves to forgive someone like Briony Tallis? Is it possible to find the titular Atonement after all those years? Acting-wise, Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Vanessa Redgrave receive my praise as Cecilia Tallis, Robbie Turner and a 70-year-old penitent Briony Tallis.… Expand
  2. Trev29
    8
    Powerful storytelling. The way the movie unfolds with all of its hidden secrets and betrayals is great. A very moving picture with scenes so effortlessly done. It isn't a joyous film, but one with great performances, art direction, and a surprising ending.… Expand
  3. ds
    5
    I don't think I have ever disagreed more with the critics. The basic story is a tawdry, contrived sequence of events, intended to be tragic, but only evoked irritation in this viewer. I was especially annoyed by the prolonged and ultimately pointless WWII portion of the story. The surprise ending only served to extend the tedium. The 'atonement' seems tacked on and empty. Maybe that was the point? The cinematography is excellent, but seems too artistic for the story. At times the soundtrack was a bit ham-handed. Someone sure fell in love with the oh-so-clever sound of typewriter keys. Most of the acting was at least adequate. James McAvoy does a great job, but Kiera Knightly seems miscast. Overall, I found this movie was very disappointing.… Expand
  4. MorganF.
    4
    This movie was so long and the plot was horribly thin. The acting was decent, but it hardly carried the film.

See all 157 User Reviews

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