Cast: Keira Knightley (Cecilia Tallis), James McAvoy (Robbie Turner), Saoirse Ronan (Briony Tallis, age 13), Romola Garai (Briony Tallis, age 18), Vanessa Redgrave (Briony Tallis, older)For complete cast info, see IMDb's Atonement page.
If you liked the book Atonement, you're sure to enjoy the movie. They did a very good job putting Atonement on the big screen. I always worry when a very good book is made into a movie. Will they cut out my favorite part? Will they cast someone who looks completely different from my view of the character and distracts me throughout the movie? Will they add or remove a love story or major plot line? Fortunately, the answer to all of these questions for Atonement is "no." They did a great job with the movie. The time period is achieved beautifully and the cast is wonderful.
I think Atonement will appeal to anyone who can enjoy a period piece. The book is wonderful and the movie is a very well done adaptation.
Did Atonement deserve to be nominated for best picture? I'm not sure. I saw so few movies in the theatre this year and I still haven't seen the winner or the other 3 nominees. It is one of the better movies I saw that was released in 2007, though. I definitely recommend renting it if you didn't see it in a theatre.
Grade: B+