Atonement transcends the expectations of its country-house setting, via the privations of war, to deliver a knockout twist that works better on the screen than it did on the page.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | May 30, 2024

Your heart breaks for Cecilia, Robbie, and what should have been, as well as an adult Briony...

Full Review | Oct 23, 2023

Director Joe Wright... drinks in the period while reaching beyond the surface and into the unsettled emotional lives of the characters—passion, betrayal, guilt.

Full Review | Jun 11, 2023

This level of storytelling and artistry is a rare treat, demonstrating director Joe Wright's knack for working with adapted material.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Nov 24, 2020

Joe Wright (director) and Christopher Hampton (writer) have not only built an exciting epic from the book, but also provide the visual discovery of an ending that was already outstanding in the novel, but... reaches new heights. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 14, 2020

McAvoy, long an underrated actor and also a Golden Globe nominee, fares even better here as the wrongly accused Robbie.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 2, 2020

Where Wright does succeed is in making absolutely lucid McEwan's fascinating central theme of atonement.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 29, 2019

Every bit as emotionally affecting as it is visually sweeping.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 6, 2019

Keep any advance knowledge of this superb drama to an absolute minimum, as it deserves every chance to work its devastating wonders upon an unsuspecting audience.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 8, 2018

Impeccable design, perfect casting, sound that takes the clack of a typewriter and embeds it into all sorts of furious onscreen rhythms... I was swooning even before the love story kicked in.

Full Review | Aug 22, 2017

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Feb 14, 2012

Atonement's goal is so ephemeral that film may not be able to do it complete justice. All that said, it's still a fantastic piece of craftsmanship, benefiting from loving direction and excellent performances.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Dec 28, 2010

An epic, grandiose, and immensely sad film, Atonement is an extremely well crafted, visually rich love story set during a tumultuous time of war, where two impassioned characters are forever torn apart by the selfish jealousy of another.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 7, 2010

zaslu%u017Euje pohvale, ali ne onakve kakve bi trebao imati ozbiljni kandidat za "Oscara"

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jul 15, 2009

Players outshine the script

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 28, 2009

Director Joe Wright and screenwriter Christopher Hampton tap into the underlying passion and pathos from which all the absurdity, irony, and poetry follow.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 23, 2009

Ranks among the best films of the year.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Feb 27, 2009

It's a romantic epic, set in the past, featuring some beautiful imagery, high drama and terrific performances from its small, all British cast. It's also (which isn't always a given when it comes to Best Picture contenders) a great movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Oct 18, 2008

Joe Wright directs Atonement with an eye to framing each performance with spectacularly vivid images, including a genuinely breathtaking tracking shot on the bloody, wreckage-strewn beach at Dunkirk.

Full Review | Oct 18, 2008

Atonement may look and sound like a Best Picture candidate, but that's all Wright's doing.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 18, 2008