...Until James McAvoy pinned Keira Knightley up against a book shelf, effectively making himself vaguely resemble a mad scientist and she his long-limbered and oddly flexible Frankenshteen. Parents, be warned: this isn't for the kiddies. Language, sex, language, more sex, violence, more language, more violence. And more sex. The acting is brilliant, the music is brilliant, the characters are brilliant, and the plot is brilliant, but there's just something about this flick that doesn't ring true to me - it might be the melodrama. But it is on the verge of being something very amazing, it just doesn't hit that point. When critics called it the Titanic of this year, be warned: that's just what it is. You either leave the movie sobbing from the sentimentality or you leave the movie sobbing because it was so bad. Sound familiar, Titanic fans?

While I agree this film is NOT for children, I do think it had some moral discussion points. There is much to be said about the young sister who thinks she knows something and while her feelings have been hurt, she intentionally sets someone up to be wrongly accused. This spirals into an unbelieveable nightmare that she had no idea she was creating. When she matures and realizes what the consequences of her actions are, she tries to atone for it. Troubling, violent war scenes and sexual situation. Overall a very good adult film.

The movie portrayed far too much evil without so much as a hint of redemption. It was hard enough to watch from the beginning, but the ending left me felt as if I had been crapped on. The story line was monstrously sick and completely devoid of moral value. Giving it the title "Atonement" was deliberately deceptive, a horrible attempt to pretend that evil can be given some other face that what it has. There was nothing atoning about it, and the viewer is violated almost as much as the characters in the movie. I am appalled at the actors who agreed to do this, and shocked that people think it worthy of awards. It may well be the worst experience I have ever had in a theater.

Atonement is a story of a young girl, Briony Tallis, who loses her innocence, and in turn commits a terrible sin against her sister and her sister's lover. The guilt of this act eats away at her for years, so she tries to atone for what she has done in the only way she knows how. This movie contains graphic sexual language and sexual situations, including scenes of pedophilia. The movie also contains some blood and violence, including animal violence, and may be very disturbing for younger viewers. I recommend this movie for mature viewers.

This was a beautifully filmed epic type picture. I enjoyed looking at it. but it's time shifting story telling was a bit confusing at times. For me, in the end it wasn't quite satisfying. But I really liked the originality of it anyway. I also had a hard time "buying into" the use of the controverial word, it seemed out of place to me. Because of the brief but fairly graphic sexual content I would not recomend this for those under 17.

A great movie. Very little swearing, one "steamy scence" which really did not need to be in the movie. A great film. Well thought out, a romantic story, that has a very realistic feel to it. Not really a feel good movie, but it does move you.

It was not at all what the hype on it intimated. Basically boring and a little gruesome. Didn't like the horses being shot. Don't waste the price of a ticket.

My friends and I attended the SF free screening. About 1/2 hour into the movie, I felt as if I had sat through 2 hours already. The beginning sequences dragged on unnecessarily and interminably. Found the entire dysfunctional family depressing and uninteresting. By one hour, I couldn't care less about any of these characters except the young man unjustly accused. Kiera looked like an emaciated "Kate Moss" lookalike; what an example! Seemed another big boost for the tobacco industry with all lighting up when they could! The cinemotography was beautiful at times, but the full complement of unnecessarily drawn out scenes made the whole thing not worthwhile.

It really fine

Atonement is a cinematical masterpiece, that is written, acted, directed, photographed, and scored to perfection. The movie will spark great conversations about lies, and how sometimes, a careless mistake can ultimalely ruin a person's life.

I love this movie. It is so good! My parents hated it. But that is probably because they only watched like fourth five minutes of it and then decided that it wasn't worth watching the rest of it. I think that anyone over the age of 12 should see this movie.

Attempting to describe this film's plot would be futile (I tried in my review of "Eternal Sunshine" and it didn't work out too well) for it includes too much to make sense on paper. There is a letter mix-up, a visitor who may not be who he people who invited him remember him as, a forbidden love and raging jealousy which leads a young girl to make a horrifying accusation which threatens the life of one of the star-crossed lovers. There was really nothing about this film that didn't work: it had great music, great acting, a wonderful script, and a brilliant conclusion that is heartfelt without being sappy. Another strong suit of the film is to replay multiple events from various people's points of view, making the event more clear each time that it is shown. I will say that the first half of the film is stronger than the second half. The front is set up like a romantic thriller and the second half is more of a war film, which weakens it ever-so-slightly, but even its weakest points are well above average; not to mention the second-half's hair-raising twist. "Atonement" is a great ecploration of love, childhood innocence and, ultimately, sorrow. As far as content goes, there is one sex scene that does not contain nudity but is rather extensive, as well as a few disturbing war images, as well as one rather bad word that is used in a desirable context. It is appropriate for most teens, but it probably won't really interest them; they may find it rather slow and tedious (even though they are sadly mistaken.) Just brilliant.

Attempting to describe this film's plot would be futile (I tried in my review of "Eternal Sunshine" and it didn't work out too well) for it includes too much to make sense on paper. There is a letter mix-up, a visitor who may not be who he people who invited him remember him as, a forbidden love and raging jealousy which leads a young girl to make a horrifying accusation which threatens the life of one of the star-crossed lovers. There was really nothing about this film that didn't work: it had great music, great acting, a wonderful script, and a brilliant conclusion that is heartfelt without being sappy. Another strong suit of the film is to replay multiple events from various people's points of view, making the event more clear each time that it is shown. I will say that the first half of the film is stronger than the second half. The front is set up like a romantic thriller and the second half is more of a war film, which weakens it ever-so-slightly, but even its weakest points are well above average; not to mention the second-half's hair-raising twist. "Atonement" is a great ecploration of love, childhood innocence and, ultimately, sorrow. As far as content goes, there is one sex scene that does not contain nudity but is rather extensive, as well as a few disturbing war images. It is appropriate for most teens, but it probably won't really interest them; they may find it rather slow and tedious (even though they are sadly mistaken.) Just brilliant.

i thought atonement was one of the best/saddest movies i have seen in a while!! although i do wish there had been more interaction between cecelia and Robbie before they told each other they're in love!! JAMES MCAVOY= BRILLIANT!!!!!! he definatley should have been nominated for an oscar for this movie!! the music was also fantastic!! i absolutley love this movie!!

Honestly, it's not all that bad. I read the book and it was wonderful. "c--t", as a bad word in desire just annoys me because it is normal. GET OVER YOURSELVES, PARENTS! YOUR KIDS ARE MORE MATURE THEN YOU THINK, FOOLS!

I've heard alot of people trash this movie, calling it "boring", "stupid", and "a waste of time", but then again, those people also liked "masterpieces" like No Country For Cop-Outs and There Will Be A "WTF" Ending. I mean, I didn't particulary enjoy the plot twist at the end of this movie, but at least there was an ending and not some crappy line uttered and then cut to black! Well, anyway, Atonement, as far as romances go, was pretty watchable. It kept you interested, the acting/casting was perfect, and the script was pretty decent. Watch this movie if you're really bored on a Friday night.

Yes i think this movie was a bit over rated but watch it a few times before you make judgement. It was a very well put together story but confusing at times but overall a beautiful film with a message

Atonement is probably the worst All of the characters in this movie, other than Robbie and Secilia, has terrible social behavior. A girl named Riley sends Robbie to jail after accusing him of sexually assaulting a girl because she was jealous. Robbie is then sent to war because he does not want to stay in jail. The character Secilia is good, but Keira Knightly's portrayal of her is just horrid. This movie is, in many occasions, told in flashbacks for no reason what so ever. For the first 20 minutes of the movie, the same exact scenes were show back to back to each other. For example, when Secilia breaks a vase and a shattered piece falls in the pond, that same exact scene is repeated right after the scene ends for no apparent reason. In the end, I did not care about what happens to any of these characters. Atonement is an absolute mess of a movie.

I thought this movie was really sad but well done. The 13 year old Briony actress did a really good job in making her character have twists and turns. James McAvoy's character (Robbie)shows a lot of passion and patience in this film. If you're an adult who likes dramas and sad romance I would recommend this film. For kids/teens I would only recommend this film if you are really mature or if you read the book. * I read the book.

it was an o.k move but it cound of ben more something in i i dont know but it nedd,ed something more then what it had!!