Atonement DVD Review

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"Atonement" reviews

DVD

Atonement

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-02-01 15:50:55

Provider

DVD Review

Based on Ian McEwan’s acclaimed novel, Atonement opens in England in 1935 on the hottest day of the year. Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy), two childhood friends from opposing backgrounds, linked together by family, realise that they have fallen in love.

Then Cecilia's younger sister, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony, enters the picture. In a few short hours, she changes the course of several lives when she misreads her sister and Robbie's relationship and commits a terrible crime.

Fast forward four years and, with World War II raging, Briony attempts to atone for her mistake – after which we follow Robbie's fortunes in the battle fields of France, Cecilia's tragic life in wartime London and Briony's decision to become a nurse in a London hospital.

With a poetic and sophisticated script, emotive score and unforgettable cinematography that beautifully illustrates the sexual tension and, later, enduring love between Cecilia and Robbie, and Briony's anguish, Atonement is a cinematic masterclass.