Atonement [WS]

Director: Joe Wright Joe Wright

Overview

A mischievous girl accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit, only to find that her words have irrevocably and permanently changed the lives of all involved in a film that re-teams the filmmakers behind Pride & Prejudice to adapt the best-selling 2002 novel by author Ian McEwan. The year is 1935, and as the summer heat takes hold, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis watches her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), get undressed and go frolicking in the garden fountain on her family's country estate. The housekeeper's son, Robbie (James McAvoy), a childhood friend and recent Cambridge graduate, also witnesses the innocent act. When Robbie and Cecilia subsequently cross a particularly sensitive boundary and the scheming Briony accuses Robbie of an unspeakable transgression for which the boy is wholly innocent, the repercussions of her unfounded claim threaten to affect all three for decades to come.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/18/2008
UPC:	0025193328526
Original Release:	2007
Rating:	R
Source:	FOCUS FEATURES
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:03:00

Special Features

Deleted scenes; Bringing the past to life: The making of Atonement; From novel to screen: Adapting a classic; Feature commentary with director Joe Wright

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

James McAvoy	Robbie Turner
Keira Knightley	Cecilia Tallis
Saoirse Ronan	13-Year-Old Briony Tallis
Brenda Blethyn	Grace Turner
Romola Garai	18-Year-Old Briony
Vanessa Redgrave	Older Briony
Benedict Cumberbatch	Paul Marshall
Jeremie Renier	Luc Cornet
Harriet Walter	Emily Tallis
Daniel Mays	Tommy Nettle
Juno Temple	Lola
Nonso Anozie	Frank Mace
Julia Westland	Betty
Felix von Simson	Pierrot Quincey,Jackson Quincey
Alfie Allen	Danny Hardman
Patrick Kennedy	Leon Tallis
Michelle Duncan	Fiona Maguire
Peter Wight	Police Inspector
Peter O'Connor	Police Sergeant
Nick Bagnall	Solider in Bray Bar #3
Anthony Minghella	Interviewer
John Normington	Vicar
Ailidh Mackay	Singing Housemaid
Julia West	Betty
Leander Deeny	Police Constable
Michel Vuillermoz	Frenchman
Lionel Abelanski	Frenchman
Tobias Menzies	Naval Officer
Paul Stocker	Crying Soldier
Alex Noodle	Solitary Sunbather
Roger Evans	Beach Soldier
Bronson Webb	Beach Soldier
Allie Kay	Singing Housemaid
Julia Ann West	Betty
Ian Bonar	Beach Soldier
Johnny Harris	Soldier in Bray Bar
Billy Seymour	Soldier in Bray Bar
Neil Maskell	Soldier in Bray Bar
Paul Harper	Soldier With Ukeleke
Gina McKee	Sister Drummond
Charlie Banks	Probationary Nurse
Madeleine Crowe	Probationary Nurse
Scarlett Dalton	Probationary Nurse
Olivia Grant	Probationary Nurse
Katy Lawrence	Probationary Nurse
Jade Moulla	Probationary Nurse
Georgia Oakley	Probationary Nurse
Alice Orr-Ewing	Probationary Nurse
Catherine Philps	Probationary Nurse
Bryony Reiss	Probationary Nurse
Sarah Shaul	Probationary Nurse
Anna Singleton	Probationary Nurse
Emily Thomson	Probationary Nurse
Kelly Scott	Hospital Admin Assistant
Mark Holgate	Soldier at Hospital Entrance
Ryan Kiggell	Registrar
Vivienne Gibbs	Staff Nurse
Matthew Forest	Second Soldier at Hospital Entrance
Richard Stacey	Injured Sergeant
Jay Quinn	Soldier Who Looks Like Robbie
Jack Harcourt	Pierrot, Aged 14
Ben Harcourt	Jackson, Aged 14
Tilly Vosburgh	Mother of Evacuees
Angel Witney	Evacuee Child,Evacuee Child
Webb. Bem	Evacuee Child
Wendy Nottingham	Mrs. Jarvis
Benjamin Wallfisch	Conductor
Dario Marianelli	Composer

Technical Credits

Christopher Hampton

Joe Wright	Director
Christopher Hampton	Screenwriter
Eric Fellner	Producer
Jina Jay	Casting
John Moffatt	Special Effects
Lee Sheward	Stunts
Mark Holt	Special Effects
Paul Webster	Producer
Tim Bevan	Producer
Danny Hambrook	Sound Mixer
Liza Chasin	Executive Producer
Richard Eyre	Executive Producer
Robert Fox	Executive Producer
Debra Hayward	Executive Producer
Ian McEwan	Executive Producer
Neil Finnighan	Stunts
Rob Inch	Stunts
Derek Lea	Stunts
Julian Lightwing	Stunts
Guy List	Stunts
Mark Mottram	Stunts
Robert Cooper	Stunts
Morgan Johnson	Stunts
Bradley Farmer	Stunts
Jamie Edgell	Stunts
Richard Bradshaw	Stunts
Belinda McGinley	Stunts
Tony Lucken	Stunts
George Cottle Jr.	Stunts
Tidd James	Stunts
Seon Rogers	Stunts
Dave Fisher	Stunts
Gary Hoptrough	Stunts
Robert Hunt	Stunts
Nick Wollage	Sound Mixer
Martin Jensen	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Joe Wright's Atonement is impressive for what it isn't as much as for what it is. For starters, it's not a straightforward period piece, though the presence of James McAvoy and Keira Knightley (alongside her Pride & Prejudice director) might suggest otherwise. Neither is it the least bit slow, with Wright's cinematic choices invigorating the narrative at every turn. It should be no surprise, then, that Atonement's marriage of lofty war-time subject matter and eye-opening technique earned it seven Oscar nominations. Viewers will find their eyes opened plenty wide -- even before noticing any technique -- by Atonement's raw sexuality, which immediately removes it from the tea-and-crumpet politeness of your average costume drama. McAvoy's Robbie has several smoldering encounters with Knightley's Cecelia, one involving a letter so lurid, it's downright smut. Crucially, these episodes are misinterpreted -- perhaps willfully -- by Cecilia's sister Briony (the Oscar-nominated Saoirse Ronan). Wright orchestrates these passages so they appear to be merely the whimsical misunderstandings of any good farce. But as the levity peels away toward sinister motivations and irrevocable repercussions, Atonement slouches into the scourges of war, leaving those parlors behind forever. Wright accomplishes all this through a memorable bag of tricks, including a repeating narrative structure that shows events interpreted from several perspectives; an indelible Oscar-winning score by Dario Marianelli, which utilizes typewriter keystrokes as percussion instruments; and one of the most ambitious uninterrupted shots ever recorded on film (by DP Seamus Mcgarvey). Perhaps second only to Children of Men's famous tracking shot in terms of modern achievement, this five-and-a-half-minute continuous take is a truly jaw-dropping sequence along the beach at Dunkirk, starting with the execution of several horses, then looping through all manner of minutely choreographed chaos without missing a beat. If there's any complaint here, it's that some viewers may feel shaken by the film's abrupt compartmentalization of its chronology, most notably during the final ten minutes, which have a somewhat spell-breaking effect. But most viewers should find themselves utterly enveloped by a movie far different than they may have prejudged.