Atonement (2007 film)
Updated: 12/16/2025, 8:49:02 PM Wikipedia source
Atonement is a 2007 romantic war tragedy film directed by Joe Wright and starring James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, and Vanessa Redgrave. It is based on the 2001 novel by Ian McEwan. The film chronicles a crime and its consequences over six decades, beginning in the 1930s. It was produced for StudioCanal and filmed in England. Distributed in most of the world by Universal Studios, it was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2007 and in North America exactly three months later on 7 December 2007. Atonement opened both the 2007 Vancouver International Film Festival and the 64th Venice International Film Festival. Wright, at age 35, was the youngest director ever to open the Venice event. The film was a commercial success and earned a worldwide gross of approximately $129 million against a budget of $30 million. Critics praised its acting, emotional depth, Wright's direction, Dario Marianelli's score, the cinematography, editing, visuals, and the film's incorporation of historic events. Among numerous accolades, Atonement was nominated in seven categories at the 80th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (for Ronan), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score, which it won. It also garnered fourteen nominations at the 61st British Academy Film Awards, winning both Best Film and Production Design; and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama.
Infobox
Directed by
Joe Wright
Screenplay by
Christopher Hampton
Based on
Atonementby Ian McEwan
Produced by
mw- Tim Bevan Eric Fellner Paul Webster
Starring
James McAvoy Keira Knightley Saoirse Ronan Romola Garai Vanessa Redgrave
Cinematography
Seamus McGarvey
Edited by
Paul Tothill
Music by
Dario Marianelli
Productioncompanies
Relativity Media StudioCanal Working Title Films
Distributed by
StudioCanal (France) Universal Pictures (international) Focus Features (United States)
Release dates
29 August 2007 (2007-08-29) (Venice) 7 September 2007 (2007-09-07) (United Kingdom) 14 December 2007 (2007-12-14) (United States) 9 January 2008 (2008-01-09) (France)
Running time
123 minutes
Countries
United Kingdom France
Language
English
Budget
$30 million
Box office
$131 million
Tables
· Reception › Top ten lists
1st
1st
Rank
1st
Critic
Kenneth Turan
Publication
Los Angeles Times
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
Rank
Lou Lumenick
Critic
New York Post
2nd
2nd
Rank
2nd
Critic
Peter Travers
Publication
Rolling Stone
3rd
3rd
Rank
3rd
Critic
—
Publication
Empire
4th
4th
Rank
4th
Critic
Ann Hornaday
Publication
The Washington Post
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Rank
Joe Morgenstern
Critic
The Wall Street Journal
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Rank
Richard Corliss
Critic
Time
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Rank
Roger Ebert
Critic
Chicago Sun-Times
Tasha Robinson
Tasha Robinson
Rank
Tasha Robinson
Critic
The A.V. Club
7th
7th
Rank
7th
Critic
Nathan Rabin
Publication
The A.V. Club
8th
8th
Rank
8th
Critic
James Berardinelli
Publication
ReelViews
Keith Phipps
Keith Phipps
Rank
Keith Phipps
Critic
The A.V. Club
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Rank
Stephen Holden
Critic
The New York Times
9th
9th
Rank
9th
Critic
Marjorie Baumgarten
Publication
The Austin Chronicle
10th
10th
Rank
10th
Critic
Michael Sragow
Publication
The Baltimore Sun
Noel Murray
Noel Murray
Rank
Noel Murray
Critic
The A.V. Club
| Rank | Critic | Publication |
| 1st | Kenneth Turan | Los Angeles Times |
| Lou Lumenick | New York Post | |
| 2nd | Peter Travers | Rolling Stone |
| 3rd | — | Empire |
| 4th | Ann Hornaday | The Washington Post |
| Joe Morgenstern | The Wall Street Journal | |
| Richard Corliss | Time | |
| Roger Ebert | Chicago Sun-Times | |
| Tasha Robinson | The A.V. Club | |
| 7th | Nathan Rabin | The A.V. Club |
| 8th | James Berardinelli | ReelViews |
| Keith Phipps | The A.V. Club | |
| Stephen Holden | The New York Times | |
| 9th | Marjorie Baumgarten | The Austin Chronicle |
| 10th | Michael Sragow | The Baltimore Sun |
| Noel Murray | The A.V. Club |
References
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