Joe Wright’s Atonement, the critically acclaimed Second World War film starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, certainly made its impact with seven Oscar nominations and an impressive fourfold return at the box office. Compelling and exquisitely shot, Atonement revolves around the events of one scorching summer’s day in 1935, the consequences of which reverberate across six decades.
It features a stunning five-minute continuous take, which required 1,000 extras, depicting the pandemonium of the Dunkirk evacuation through the perspective of James McAvoy’s character. Atonement holds an 83% ‘fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The site’s critics consensus states: “Atonement features McAvoy’s strong performance, brilliant cinematography, and a unique score. It’s a successful adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel.”
It claimed Best Film at the BAFTAs, Best Original Score at the Academy Awards, and secured Saoirse Ronan an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress at just 13 years of age.
The film opened both 2007 Venice and Vancouver Film Festivals, making Wright the youngest director to open the former at only 35 years old.
Critic Andrew Collins awarded the film five stars in Radio Times, declaring: “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.
“In its first 45 minutes, Atonement achieves a kind of perfection rare even for big Oscar-bait movies,” noted film critic Bruce Newman, though with a reservation: “Every facet of the filmmaking is the equal of any picture released this year. The rest of the movie isn’t so bad.”
Audiences have been particularly outspoken about the picture, with the most popular review on the Letterboxd platform declaring: “13 years old Saoirse Ronan was robbed of that Oscar for her performance as THE DEVIL.”
On Google, meanwhile, one especially fervent admirer suggested Dunkirk (2017) paled by comparison: “I deeply appreciate Atonement for other reasons, and while the films are about 10 years apart, I am utterly perplexed by how Nolan’s Dunkirk became the critical darling it is, especially since this film exists.
“This film isn’t about the evacuation of Dunkirk or WWII (those elements form the background for a fully realised troubled romance and family drama) and YET this film spends about 20 minutes on Dunkirk and it conveys the horror, defeat and dread of it it far sharper and more resonant than Nolan’s film does for its entire run time.”
On Letterboxd, one review garnering over 6,300 likes stated simply: “The five-minute long take on the beach >>>>>>> dunkirk (2017).”
Although Atonement is no longer available on Netflix in the UK, you can stream it by renting or buying it on Amazon Prime, YouTube or Apple TV.