ATONEMENT is a bittersweet romantic epic. The movie attacks the story through multiple points of view and going back and forth through time. The first half of ATONEMENT deals with one day in 1935 where everything goes wrong at a house out in the country. Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's (Keira Knightley) lover Robbie (James McAvoy) of a crime he did not commit. Robbie ends up in prison and is presented with the option of joing the army in 1939. ATONEMENT is the romance of Robbie and Cecilia (Knightley) and how one event leads to a chain of events that threaten to keep them apart. The way the story is told kept it's hold on me. The production design and costumes are very vivid. James McAvoy and Keira Knightley add another dimension to their characters through their strong performances.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
The 7 deleted scenes don't add much to the film, but the Dunkirk scenes are interesting to watch.

BRING THE PAST TO LIFE: THE MAKING OF ATONEMENT shows clips from the film, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with cast and crew. They go into the locations they used and how they went about creating a few things for scenes.

FROM NOVEL TO SCREEN: ADAPTING A CLASSIC- The screenwriter talks about difficult it was to adapt the novel and how the director brought the script back closer to the book. Also features interviews with the director and the novel's author.

Also director Joe Wright has recorded audio commentary for the feature film and the deleted scenes.

FINAL ANALYSIS: ATONEMENT is tragic and moving. The featurettes are so-so. The deleted scenes are the highlight of the extras.

this DVD review is (c)3-20-2008 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com  

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