Atonement

What’s the Story?

Based on the best-selling novel by English author Ian McEwan, ATONEMENT is an epic love story about Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the son of a rich English family's housekeeper, and upper-crust beauty Cecelia Tallis (Keira Knightley). Robbie, who was sent to Cambridge on the Tallis family's benevolent dime, secretly admires Cecilia. Cee's 13-year-old sister Briony, a fabulist who lives in her own girlish world of plays and poems, harbors a crush on Robbie, which leads her to misinterpret a steamy moment between Cee and Robbie as an attack. Fueled by a shocking love letter draft that Robbie unintentionally sends to Cee, Briony accuses Robbie of an unrelated sexual crime. And suddenly the film, like the book, skips ahead five years, as Robbie -- now an ex-con soldier -- and two other men walk through war-torn France to the pivotal evacuation at Dunkirk. Robbie is just one of tens of thousands of men waiting to get back to England -- with just his letters from Cee and the memory of their stolen embraces to give him comfort. As in the book, as the movie nears its end, viewers meet an elderly Briony, convincingly played by Vanessa Redgrave, who still wears the same hairstyle and figureless dresses sported by the 13-year-old Ronan. She's finally gotten a chance to fully make up for her adolescent mistakes.

Is It Any Good?

McEwan's novel isn't easy to translate onto the big screen. The book is about the power of words, the blurry line between fantasy and truth, and the consequence of not understanding the meaning of words or sexual attraction. But director Joe Wright, who made 2006's Oscar-nominated Pride & Prejudice, does an admirable job of creating a faithful adaptation that resonates with viewers, whether they're familiar with the book or not.

Knightley and McAvoy have enough chemistry to make their scenes sizzle, and McAvoy in particular breaks out as an actor destined for leading-man status. His boyish looks allow him to be forceful and vulnerable at the same time, and he's surprisingly attractive -- but not in an overwhelming Brad Pitt way that distracts from his performance. Wright and Knightley (who also starred in his Pride & Prejudice) also seem to understand each other, and if a third film results from the pairing, it will be quite clear that he's found his professional muse.