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Atonement: A Review

Monday, August 27th, 2007

Atonement Movie Poster

I watched a preview of Atonement on Thursday evening. (It was a special “gala preview screening” at my local cinema, a great deal at £10/$18.69 for a ticket, drink, popcorn, Atonement book and Pride & Prejudice DVD.)

The film stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Vanessa Redgrave, Brenda Blethyn and Romola Garai.

Keira in Atonement

13-year-old Briony witnesses a series of events during a single day. Her childish interpretation of those events leads to the devastating separation of a pair of lovers. Can Briony atone for her mistakes?

McAvoy in Atonement

I haven’t read the novel on which the film is based, so I cannot determine how faithful the movie remained to the original story, but I feel that the film worked very well. The cast was excellent, especially McAvoy and Saoirse Ronan, who played 13-year-old Briony.

Ronan in Atonement

The movie was beautifully shot, with sumptuous details of the Tallis estate, and later the awful ravages of World War II. There were moments of amusement, but the film’s tone was mostly bittersweet and poignant. I am looking forward to reading the original novel to compare and contrast it to the excellent movie.

Urban Recluse Rating: ★★★★½

Written by PJ | Posted in movies

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7 Responses to “Atonement: A Review”

  1. 1
    J.D.:

    6:25 am on 27-Aug-07

    Me want now!!!!

  2. 2
    Absolute Vanilla... (& Atyllah):

    10:56 am on 27-Aug-07

    This sounds like my kind of movie - I will definitely look out for it - thanks for the heads up, PJ.

  3. 3
    PJ:

    5:00 pm on 27-Aug-07

    J.D. :mrgreen: I’ve seen a film that J.D. hasn’t. nah nah nah nah!

    AV: You’re very welcome my dear.

  4. 4
    J.D.:

    10:33 pm on 27-Aug-07

    Well, that’s because it hasn’t set foot in the Western Hemisphere yet. No fair.

  5. 5
    Emma:

    11:13 pm on 30-Aug-07

    I’ve seen it too, and give it the same rating as you. McAvoy was immense.

  6. 6
    PJ:

    11:24 pm on 30-Aug-07

    Hi Emma, indeed he was magnificent. I enjoyed reading your review, it was very enlightening.

  7. 7
    kuldeep:

    10:28 am on 10-Jan-08

    Are you interested in writing movie reviews?

    Pls check out this opportunity at MoviePress,
    http://metalbirds.com/popkorns/jobs/

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