Critic Reviews
85
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
positive
33(92%)
mixed
3(8%)
negative
0(0%)
Showing 36 Critic Reviews
100
No two-hour film could ever capture all the riches of McEwan's masterly novel. But Wright and Hampton's Atonement comes tantalizingly close, while adding sensual delights all its own.
100
Nothing in Joe Wright's screen version of Ian McEwan's dense, internalized 2001 novel of secrets and lies should really work, but damn near everything does. It's some kind of miracle. Written, directed and acted to perfection, Atonement sweeps you up on waves of humor, heartbreak and ravishing romance.
100
Rarely has a book sprung so vividly to life, but also worked so enthrallingly in pure movie terms, as with Atonement, Brit helmer Joe Wright’s smart, dazzlingly upholstered adaptation of Ian McEwan’s celebrated 2001 novel.
100
Gorgeous cinematography, a lilting score and near-faultless performances, under Wright’s assured direction, make this the first contender for next year’s Best Picture Oscar.
100
Nothing comes easily in Atonement, especially its ending, which, both happy and tragic, is as wrenching as it is genuinely satisfying. How fitting, somehow, that a novel so devoted to the precision and passionate love of language be captured in a film that is simply too exquisite for words.
100
A singular achievement -- romantic, sensuous, intelligent and finally shattering in its sweep and thematic complexity.
100
Atonement is that rare combo: a good movie based on a good book.
100
This is one of the year's best films, a certain best picture nominee.
100
What might seem like showing off in another movie is dazzling storytelling here, packing in an hour's worth of human misery.
100
This is one of the few adaptations that gives a splendid novel the film it deserves.
