Joe Wright's Atonement, the critically lauded World War 2 drama starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, made a significant impact with seven Oscar nominations and a box office return four times its budget.
The film, which is both gripping and exquisitely shot, unfolds over the course of a sultry summer day in 1935, with consequences that ripple through the next six decades. It boasts an impressive five-minute continuous shot involving 1,000 extras that vividly captures the Dunkirk evacuation as seen by McAvoy's character.
For those intrigued, you have only a few days left to watch this war epic on Netflix before it departs from the streaming service on 16th June.
Atonement enjoys an 83% 'fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
According to the site's critics consensus: "Atonement features strong performances, brilliant cinematography, and a unique score. Featuring deft performances from James MacAvoy and Keira Knightley, it's a successful adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel", reports the Express.
The film clinched Best Film at the BAFTAs, Best Original Score at the Oscars, and earned Saoirse Ronan an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress at just 13 years old.
It had the honour of opening both the 2007 Venice and Vancouver Film Festivals, making Wright the youngest director to open the former at just 35.
Critic Andrew Collins gave the film a glowing five-star review in Radio Times, saying: "Atonement transcends the expectations of its country-house setting, via the privations of war, to deliver a knockout twist that works better on the screen than it did on the page."
Bruce Newman, another film critic, praised the first part of the movie, stating: "In its first 45 minutes, Atonement achieves a kind of perfection rare even for big Oscar-bait movies," but he added a note of caution: "Every facet of the filmmaking is the equal of any picture released this year. The rest of the movie isn't so bad."
On the Letterboxd platform, the most popular review highlighted Ronan's performance: "13 years old saoirse ronan was robbed of that oscar for her performance as THE DEVIL."
A fan on Google compared Atonement to Dunkirk (2017), expressing a strong preference: "I deeply appreciate Atonement for other reasons and while the films are about 10 years apart I am utterly perplexed by how Nolan's Dunkirk became the critical darling it is, especially since this film exists.
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Sky"This film isn't about the evacuation of Dunkirk or WWII (those elements form the background for a fully realized troubled romance and family drama) and YET this film spends about 20 minutes on Dunkirk and it conveys the horror, defeat and dread of it it far sharper and more resonant than Nolan's film does for its entire run time."
Another Letterboxd user succinctly put their admiration for a particular scene: "the five-minute long take on the beach >>>>>>> dunkirk (2017)".
Atonement is available to stream on Netflix until Monday, 16th June.
