Atonement

Keira Knightley - Cecilia Tallis
James McAvoy - Robbie Turner
Saoirse Ronan - Briony Tallis
Brenda Blethyn - Grace Turner
Julia West - Betty
Harriet Walter - Emily Tallis
Juno Temple - Lola Quincey
Felix von Simson - Pierrot Quincey
Charlie von Simson - Jackson Quincey
Alfie Allen - Danny Hardman
Patrick Kennedy - Leon Tallis
Benedict Cumberbatch - Paul Marshall
Daniel Mays - Tommy Nettle

Joe Wright, director of Pride & Prejudice (2005), brings to the screen Christopher Hampton’s adapted screenplay of Ian McEwan's best-selling 2001 novel Atonement. Shot on location in the U.K., the film's sweeping story of a love dashed first by a cruel twist of fate and then the arrival of World War II, spans several decades. This powerfully erotic period piece speaks of what is timeless about passion and redemption, and how one of the three adults whose destinies are wildly altered by a wicked lie, must confront the truth of their actions.  Wright draws out memorable performances from a strong cast including the elegant Keira Knightley, a soulful James McAvoy and a startlingly mature Saoirse Ronan.

 In 1935, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) and her family live a life of wealth and privilege in their enormous mansion. On the warmest day of the year, the country estate takes on an unsettling hothouse atmosphere, stoking Briony's vivid imagination. Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the educated son of the family's housekeeper, carries a torch for Briony’s headstrong older sister Cecilia (Keira  Knightley). Cecilia, he hopes, has comparable feelings; all it will take is one spark for this relationship to combust. When it does, Briony – who has a crush on Robbie – is compelled to interfere, going so far as accusing Robbie of a crime he did not commit. Cecilia and Robbie declare their love for each other, but he is arrested – and with Briony bearing false witness, the course of three lives is changed forever. Briony continues to seek forgiveness for her and trains as a nurse as an act of penance for her childhood misdeed. Through a terrible and courageous act of imagination, she finds the path to her uncertain atonement, and to an understanding of the power of enduring love.