Atonement
Torn apart by betrayal. Separated by war. Bound by love.
2007 | 123m | English
Popularity: 7 (history)
| Director: | Joe Wright |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Ian McEwan, Christopher Hampton |
| Staring: |
| As a 13-year-old, fledgling writer Briony Tallis irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. | |
| Release Date: | Feb 27, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Joe Wright |
| Writer: | Ian McEwan, Christopher Hampton |
| Genres: | Drama, Romance |
| Keywords | sibling relationship, nurse, loss of loved one, based on novel or book, flirt, new love, wind, world war ii, lie, letter, twist, mistake, innocence, author, redemption, summer, mourning, dunkirk, london blitz, sepsis, reminiscent, sentimental |
| Production Companies | Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Relativity Media, Working Title Films |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $131,016,624
Budget: $30,000,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 14, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| James McAvoy | Robbie Turner |
| Keira Knightley | Cecilia Tallis |
| Saoirse Ronan | Briony Tallis (Age 13) |
| Romola Garai | Briony Tallis (Age 18) |
| Vanessa Redgrave | Briony Tallis (Age 77) |
| Brenda Blethyn | Grace Turner |
| Juno Temple | Lola Quincey |
| Benedict Cumberbatch | Paul Marshall |
| Harriet Walter | Emily Tallis |
| Alfie Allen | Danny Hardman |
| Jérémie Renier | Luc Cornet |
| Anthony Minghella | Interviewer |
| Tobias Menzies | Naval Officer |
| Peter Wight | Police Inspector |
| Gina McKee | Sister Drummond |
| Tilly Vosburgh | Mother of Evacuees |
| John Normington | Vicar |
| Patrick Kennedy | Leon Tallis |
| Peter McNeil O'Connor | Police Sergeant |
| Daniel Mays | Tommy Nettle |
| Nonso Anozie | Frank Mace |
| Michelle Duncan | Fiona Maguire |
| Michel Vuillermoz | Frenchman |
| Lionel Abelanski | Frenchman |
| Roger Evans | Beach Soldier |
| Bronson Webb | Beach Soldier |
| Ian Bonar | Beach Soldier |
| Jamie Beamish | Soldier in Bray Bar |
| Johnny Harris | Soldier in Bray Bar |
| Billy Seymour | Soldier in Bray Bar |
| Neil Maskell | Soldier in Bray Bar |
| Nick Bagnall | Soldier in Bray Bar |
| Vivienne Gibbs | Staff Nurse |
| Alice Orr-Ewing | Probationary Nurse |
| Olivia Grant | Probationary Nurse |
| Katy Lawrence | Probationary Nurse |
| Paul Stocker | Crying Soldier |
| Alex Noodle | Solitary Sunbather |
| Kelly Scott | Hospital Admin Assistant |
| Ryan Kiggell | Registrar |
| Wendy Nottingham | Mrs. Jarvis |
| Julia West | Betty |
| Felix von Simson | Pierrot Quincey |
| Charlie von Simson | Jackson Quincey |
| Leander Deeny | Police Constable |
| Mark Holgate | Soldier at Hospital Entrance |
| Romola Garai | Briony, 18 |
| Elliott Francis | Soldier (uncredited) |
| Craig Douglas | Soldier (uncredited) |
| Elliott Jo Sinclair | Girl (Uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| George Cottle | Stunts |
| Ian McEwan | Novel |
| Ian Bailie | Supervising Art Director |
| Nick Gottschalk | Art Direction |
| Niall Moroney | Art Direction |
| Katie Spencer | Set Decoration |
| Erica Bensly | Unit Manager |
| Simon Fraser | Production Manager |
| Deborah Harding | Post Production Supervisor |
| Michelle Wright | Executive In Charge Of Production |
| Deborah Jarvis | Makeup Artist, Hairstylist |
| Norma Webb | Makeup Artist |
| Josh Robertson | Assistant Director |
| Lee Sheward | Stunt Coordinator |
| Terry Richards | Other |
| Paul Hamblin | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| Tarn Harper | Production Accountant |
| Catherine Hodgson | Supervising Sound Editor |
| Marcus Alexander | Digital Intermediate |
| David Nemar | Utility Stunts |
| Andy Butcher | Stunts |
| Rob Cooper | Stunts |
| Kirsten Lane | Music Consultant |
| Andie Derrick | Foley Artist |
| Alexandros Sidiropoulos | Foley Mixer |
| Virginia Thorn | Foley Editor |
| Martin Jensen | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| Danny Hambrook | Sound Mixer |
| Timothy Everest | Costume Design |
| Nathaniel De'Lineadeus | Special Effects Makeup Artist |
| Andrea Finch | Makeup Supervisor |
| Pauline Fowler | Prosthetic Supervisor |
| Matthew Smith | Prosthetic Makeup Artist |
| Ivana Primorac | Makeup Artist |
| Julia Wilson | Makeup Artist |
| Paul Tothill | Editor |
| Joe Wright | Director |
| Christopher Hampton | Screenplay |
| Dario Marianelli | Original Music Composer |
| Seamus McGarvey | Director of Photography |
| Rosamund Pike | Thanks |
| Sarah Greenwood | Production Design |
| Dixie Chassay | Casting |
| Holly Waddington | Wardrobe Assistant |
| Thomas Napper | Second Unit Director |
| Peter Burgis | Foley Artist |
| Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou | Makeup Artist |
| Michael Stevenson | Additional Second Assistant Director |
| Jina Jay | Casting |
| Adam Inglis | Color Timer |
| Tom Whitehead | Draughtsman |
| Chris Lyons | Special Effects Makeup Artist |
| Jacqueline Durran | Costume Design |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Jane Frazer | Co-Producer |
| Ian McEwan | Executive Producer |
| Tim Bevan | Producer |
| Eric Fellner | Producer |
| Paul Webster | Producer |
| Liza Chasin | Executive Producer |
| Richard Eyre | Executive Producer |
| Robert Fox | Executive Producer |
| Debra Hayward | Executive Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Picture | N/A | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Saoirse Ronan | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Director | Joe Wright | Nominated |
| Golden Globes | Best Actress | Keira Knightley | Nominated |
| Golden Globes | Best Director | Joe Wright | Nominated |
| Golden Globes | Best Supporting Actress | Vanessa Redgrave | Won |
| Golden Globes | Best Picture | N/A | Nominated |
| Golden Globes | Best Supporting Actor | N/A | Nominated |
| BAFTA Awards | Best Director | Joe Wright | Nominated |
| SAG Awards | Best Actor | James McAvoy | Nominated |
| SAG Awards | Best Picture | N/A | Nominated |
| SAG Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Tom Wilkinson | Nominated |
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 51 | 81 | 33 |
| 2024 | 5 | 50 | 108 | 26 |
| 2024 | 6 | 36 | 54 | 22 |
| 2024 | 7 | 43 | 88 | 24 |
| 2024 | 8 | 40 | 98 | 20 |
| 2024 | 9 | 26 | 38 | 17 |
| 2024 | 10 | 36 | 68 | 22 |
| 2024 | 11 | 36 | 64 | 24 |
| 2024 | 12 | 38 | 56 | 23 |
| 2025 | 1 | 48 | 76 | 32 |
| 2025 | 2 | 32 | 55 | 6 |
| 2025 | 3 | 9 | 43 | 3 |
| 2025 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 5 |
| 2025 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 7 |
| 2025 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| 2025 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 5 |
| 2025 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| 2025 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 4 |
| 2025 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
Trending Position
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | 542 | 771 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | 326 | 697 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | 480 | 690 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | 232 | 620 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | 258 | 661 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | 444 | 743 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | 256 | 650 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | 343 | 740 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 503 | 768 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 415 | 787 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 12 | 579 | 753 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 11 | 455 | 760 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 10 | 923 | 923 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 9 | 907 | 911 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 8 | 824 | 896 |
"Cecilia" (Keira Knightley) has fallen for "Robbie" (James McCoy) - a man well down the social ladder from her family and their stately home. It's love, though, and the young man is doing his best to fit into their privileged world by studying (at their expense) at Cambridge with a view to becoming ... a doctor. Meantime, following a scene that she has completely misinterpreted and the reading of a letter that wasn't any of her business, their behaviour is being rather unhealthily scrutinised by her thirteen year old sister "Briony" (Saoirse Ronan) who soon becomes fixated on the couple, on destroying the couple and to that latter end she concocts a story that not only achieves her goal, but sees "Robbie" wrongly incarcerated for a fairly heinous crime. The war intervenes and that gives the lovers a chance to recalibrate their feelings for each other whilst the now more mature "Briony" (now Romola Garai) with whom her sister has become estranged, is having a serious crisis of conscience and travels to London to be both a nurse and to take responsibility for her behaviour five years earlier. This is a complex and detailed piece of cinema and McAvoy delivers really well as the honest and decent lad caught up in a web of deceit and envy. Knightley is less effective - but still contributes well enough as the truth is finally known before an inevitable tragedy strikes. It's a story about the ramifications of a lie, but it's also about people's abilities to love, forgive and to judge. Loyalty might only be skin deep but regret lasts for ever, and ever might not be so long as you might hope. Dario Marianelli has created a masterful score to accompany this story and the writing and Joe Wright's subtle direction ensure we steer well clear of the melodramatic and the sentimental as the denouement looms and Vanessa Redgrave appears for a quite fitting final mea culpa. A straightforward British period drama this isn't and it's well worth a watch on big screen for the a cinematography that marries the rustic charm of rural England with the horrors of bombs, bullets and blood poignantly.