Customer Reviews
Absolute tosh - By: Ian Fielden, 27 Aug 2008 
This film is boring & badly acted especially by Miss Knighty. The story not clear & missing vital information from the book well not so much missing but not making it clear.
I looked forward to taking my wife to this & wished I had not it was truly truly bad. She like myself had read the book at some time but seriously felt let down.
Would not recommend at all, stay at home with your feet up & watch paint drying its more fun honest!
A very strange film - By: J. Bassett, 26 Aug 2008 
This is a very strange film. Firstly, it is beautifully shot. There are some great performances, particularly from McAvoy. I even quite enjoyed it at times.
However,in the transference from book to film you are simply left with a bit of a mess. Parts of the plot (and there really isn't much of a plot so no chance of a spoiler) are examinedin great detail - & suffer accordingly. Other parts are entirely glossed over, presumably losing outin the move to film, leaving you somewhat confused.
Then there is the casting of Knightley. Whilst her figure may bein keeping with 30's waif-chic, casting someone who looks like a pre-pubescent boy as a romantic leading lady leads to some highly uncomfortable viewing as the love scenes between the two leads start to look like some weird, homo-erotic paedophilia!
The scene at Dunkirk is a perfect example of what went wrong. Nothing happens. Three men arrive at Dunkirk & are told boats are being sent for them. They then wander around for a bit. This gives the director ample chance to show the awe-inspiring re-creation of the beach at Dunkirk & the chaos of 300,000 soldiers. One particular pan, which seems to go on forever, is just jaw-dropping. However, it is clearly only so long BECAUSE of the expense that went into producing it. It adds nothing to the film. The earlier story of how our lead found himself to bein Francein the first place & how he came to be injured is entirely missing - one can only assume to make room for the expensive bit. A strange decision that goes some way to ruining a film that was already heading downhill!
We are then led into a bizarre final charadein which everyone suddenly starts acting entirely out of character & then you are left with a final shot of someone, entirely unsatisfactorily, explaining why.
It is worth renting for the cinematography & performances but don't try to think about it too much. It just doesn't stand up to any kind of scrutiny.
the slightest of tales - By: time I had some time alone, 26 Aug 2008 
When Ian McEwan's Booker-prize nominated novel was released, there must have been an instant queue of British film producers waving options contracts at him. After all, Atonement contains all the elements for a successful British film. The country house location. The upper classes, cut glass accents, the period drama. The war! Even better. And so it came to pass, that the film of Atonement was praised by many critics & nominated for lots of awards.
But how does it play when I'm satin front of the TV on a Friday night? Therein lies the problem. I have not read the novel but I can see what the themes are, & the film is simply unable to carry them off. Without them, it is a very slight story,in which the characters are never developed fully enough for us to care what happens to them. Yes, it looks beautiful. The script is cleverly worked & tries valiantly to reproduce the effect of the multiple viewpoints of the novel. The actors, particularly the leads, are uniformly excellent, & the director has plenty of good ideas.
The big set piece scene set at Dunkirkin 1940 has attracted plenty of attention. It is certainly a tour de force & hats off to Joe Wright for pulling it off. I do feel it greatly dominates the entire film; nothing that precedes or succeeds it has anything like the same impact. Neither am I worried by its authenticity; it is ironic thatin a fictional piece which questions the reliability of the authorial voice that viewers have complained about what would or would not have happened.
Ultimately, the film fails to exert any kind of emotional pull. It is a pleasant enough way of spending a couple of hours, but will not live longin the memory.
I SHALL TOP MYSELF NOW SHALL I - By: G. G. Macdonald, 23 Aug 2008 IF YOU WANT A WONDERFUL ROMANTIC NIGHT IN WHERE AFTERWARDS YOU FEEL A WARM SUMMERY MEADOW OF AAAAHHH ALL OVER YOU...DONT GO ANYWHERE NEAR THIS.
THIS IS THE SEBASTIAN FLYTE IN MORROCCO MIXED IN WITH LEGENDS OF THE FALL,YES THE PRODUCTION IS BEAUTIFUL,YES THE ACTORS ARE WONDERFUL...BUT AND ITS A BIG BUT...BE PREPARED TO GO UP THE WOODEN STAIRS TO BEDFORDSHIRE JUST MUTTERING THE WORDS WHY OH WHY DID I WATCH THAT....DAYS LATER..WHY..YOU WILL MEET OTHERS AND TRY TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU ARE SO DOWN...BUT THEY DONT UNDERSTAND,BECAUSE THEY HAVENT WATCHED THE PURE BUCKET OF SADNESS THAT IS ATONEMENT...I AM STILL GETTING FLASHBACKS.TRUST ME DONT DO IT TO YOUR BRAIN, IT WILL BE LIKE GIVING A PUPPY TO A DRUNK SKINHEAD CALLED DOGKILLER.
Lovely - By: Ernie the cat, 21 Aug 2008 
Loved it, another example of me reading the book before i see the film. this worked well because the book covered elements of the plot which i thought were important which the film missed, & the film made the ending clearer because at this point i was bored of the book & just skimmed it. it was a lovely pleasant sad film.
