Atonement (2007)2007 HOT!

The structure of the McEwan novel and this film directed by Joe Wright is relentless. How many films have we seen that fascinate in every moment and then, in the last moments, pose a question about all that has gone before, one that forces us to think deeply about what betrayal and atonement might really entail?

Atonement (2007)2007

Atonement is a 2007 romantic war drama film directed by Joe Wright and starring James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Romola Garai, Saoirse Ronan, and Vanessa Redgrave. It is based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. The film chronicles a crime and its consequences over the course of six decades, beginning in the 1930s. It was produced for StudioCanal and filmed in England. Distributed in most of the world by Universal Studios, it was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2007 and in North America on 7 December 2007.

Atonement opened both the 2007 Vancouver International Film Festival and the 64th Venice International Film Festival, making Wright, at age 35, the youngest director ever to open the Venice event. The film was a commercial success and earned a worldwide gross of approximately $129 million against a budget of $30 million. It received rave reviews, with critics praising its acting, emotional depth, Wright's direction, Dario Marianelli's score, the cinematography, visuals and the film's incorporation of real life events.

In Britain, the film was listed as number three on Empire's Top 25 Films of 2007. The American critic Roger Ebert gave it a four-star review, dubbing it "one of the year's best films, a certain best picture nominee".[44] In the film review television program, At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper gave the film a "thumbs up," adding that Knightley gave "one of her best performances." As for the film, he commented that "Atonement has hints of greatness but it falls just short of Oscar contention."[45] The film received near-unanimous praise on its release, with its casting solidifying Knightley as a leading star in British period dramas while igniting McAvoy's career in leading roles. It also catapulted the trajectory of a young (Saoirse) Ronan. Upon its release, The Daily Telegraph's David Gritten describes how "Critics who have seen Atonement have reacted with breathless superlatives, and its showing at Venice and [its] subsequent release will almost certainly catapult Wright into the ranks of world-class film directors."[46] The film received many positive reviews for its adherence to McEwan's novel, with Variety reporting that the film "preserves much of the tome's metaphysical depth and all of its emotional power," and commenting that "Atonement is immensely faithful to McEwan's novel."[47] Author Ian McEwan also worked as an executive producer on the film.[48]

Atonement has been named among the Top 10 Films of 2007 by the Austin Film Critics Association,[59] the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Online[60] and the Southeastern Film Critics Association.[61]

In Atonement, Robbie (James McAvoy) is the son of the housekeeper for the upper class Tallis family, in the Surry Hills area of England, and he has made a big mistake. After the lewd letter he jokingly wrote to daughter Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightly) is mistakenly handed over instead of the formal one he intended, young Briony (Saoirse Ronan) reads it, and is shocked at what she reads. Her impression that Robbie might be a pervert is not helped when she later catches him with Cecilia in the library study. Believing her unrequited "crush" is a deviant, she fingers him as the guilty party (knowing it wasn't really him) when her cousin is found raped in the bushes - forever changing all of their lives.Based on the acclaimed novel by Ian McEwan, Atonement shows us how a singular event affects multiple lives. We follow Robby through his experience (after 3 years in prison) as a British soldier in occupied France during World War II at the Dunkirk evacuation, as he tries to return to Cecilia, who has been working as a nurse and waiting for him. None of them have been on speaking terms with Briony, who is also working as a nurse and trying to atone for her actions by writing a novel about what she did.The movie is very well done, with solid pacing, great cinematography and three dimensional characters. Though their romantic encounter is brief, the connection between Cecilia and Robbie is strong enough to be believable that they would hold out for each other all those years. Similarly, the guilt that Briony feels is palpable, and young Saoirse Ronan does a good job playing the role of the 13-year old. Some people might feel that the ending is a bit of a "jolt (some would even say it's too similar to Titanic, but they'd be wrong). Directed by Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice), there is a certain airy quality about the pre-war sequences, with the lavish estates and beautiful magic-hour lighting. During the Dunkirk sequence, the typical "World War II desaturated" tone is adopted, but there's an excellent tracking shot that takes us through the evacuation site in one take, and is definitely noteworthy. The music score by Dario Marianelli is excellent, and his use of a typewriter as a rhythmic device might seem like a nod to Michael Kamen's Brazil, but actually works as a subconscious message that the movie we're watching is actually a story being told by Briony, who is writing it as her novel. I can see this one getting an Oscar nomination. In fact, I can see Atonement getting quite a few nominations, as it's a very well done film throughout, and the story of guilt, love and attempt at redemption makes it well worth your time to see.more reviews by Dan GoldwasserTrailer Music Used From Theatrical Trailer"Breathing Space" - X-Ray Dog"The Vesion" Canis Rex I - X-Ray Dog"Off Ramp" - Brand X Music Teaser TrailerDragonheart (1996) - Randy EdelmanClick for more trailer musicNews &amp Articles8/25/2008World Soundtrack Awards Nominees For 2008 Announced5/9/2008James Newton Howard's 'Blood Diamond' wins the Classical BRIT Awards 2008 Score of the Year2/24/2008SCL Oscar Reception 20082/24/200880th Annual Academy Award Winners Announced2/21/2008Mike Brennan's Top 10 of 20072/20/20082007 Award Winners Announced By International Film Music Critics Association2/16/200820th Annual Sammy Awards Announced1/22/2008Oscar Nominations for 20071/13/20082008 Golden Globe Winners Announced12/13/20072008 Golden Globe Nominations AnnouncedMovie RatingsSoundtrack.Net UsersClick starsto rate.Other Ratings (function(d,s,id)var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id))return;js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="/title/imdbrating.min.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);)(document,'script','imdb-rating-api');Related LinksIMDbRotten TomatoesBox Office MojoWikipediaOfficial WebsiteMissing Information?If any information appears to be missing from this page, contact us and let us know!

There Will Be Blood scored the best opening in limited release this year with an amazing $190,000 in 2 theaters for an average of $95,370, and that's for a Wednesday release. The Bucket List opened with an average of $20,990 in 16 theaters. Two imports earned nearly identical averages with Persepolis topping The Orphanage $12,689 to $12,280. While There Will Be Blood earned the best per theater average of the year, I was more impressed with Juno and Atonement, both of which topped $10,000 despite being in theaters for weeks now and undergoing massive expansions during that time. Juno earned over $10 million in less than 1000 theaters for an average of $10,436 while Atonement earned an average of $10,074 in just over 300 theaters thanks to a holiday boost. More...Cast Updates - December 20, 2007December 20th, 2007

Despite expanding from 7 theaters to 40, Juno remained in first place on the per theater chart with an average of $35,686. The number one overall film, I Am Legend, had to settle for second place with a still very impressive $21,412. Another holdover, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, remained nearly flat, earning an average of $18,855 in three theaters, but it better expand soon before it's too late. Atonement earned nearly $2 million over the weekend in just 117 theaters for an average of $15,443. Despite weaker than expected reviews, The Kite Runner opened with nearly $500,000 in 35 for an average of $13,478. The final film in the $10,000 club was the second wide release to reach that mark this weekend; Alvin and the Chipmunks opened with an average of $12,750 in nearly 3,500 theaters over the weekend. More...Award Season - Globes Spread the Love AroundDecember 13th, 2007

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their Golden Globe nominations this week, but there were no truly dominate films out of the 14 theatrical categories. More...Quartet of Oscar Contenders top the Per Theater ChartDecember 12th, 2007

While many obvious Oscar bait films have failed to connect with critics or moviegoers this fall, Juno came practically out of nowhere to become a top contender. Not only has it earned 92% positive reviews, it also earned an average of $59,124 over the weekend in 7 theaters. And, since Wednesday, amassed an impressive $81,887. Atonement also did well enough to give it a serious shot at picking up some hardware with almost $800,000 in 32 theaters for an average of $24,901. Last week's duo of debuts held well with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly earning an average of $19,200 in 3 theaters during its second weekend of release. Meanwhile, The Savages expanded from 4 to 9 theaters while earning an average of $15,828. More...Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of December 7, 2007December 8th, 2007

Another slow week for websites with more movies lacking real official sites than having sites that are award contenders. The best site in terms of style is His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass - Official Site while the best in terms of content is Juno - Official Site. If you combined those two, you would have a great site. Combining the two movie might produce different results. More...Another Week, Another Oscar ShowdownDecember 7th, 2007 041b061a72