Atonement begins in the summer of 1935 in the English countryside. Not only is the temperature rising, but also the sexual tension between Cecilia, an aristocrat’s daughter (Keira Knightley) and Robbie, a housekeeper’s son (James McAvoy). Cecilia’s thirteen-year-old sister, Briony (Saoirse Ronan), is an aspiring writer who suffers from a girly crush on Robbie. Failing to understand the physical and emotional attraction between Robbie and Cecilia, Briony’s wide-eyed view of their relationship is distorted by her roaring imagination. This leads Briony to make one false accusation that changes the lives of all three characters.

The film excels in its subtle glimpses into upper class life in the family mansion, from covert looks through the cracks of wooden doors to close-ups of gowns cascading onto floorboards. Underlying the security of the domestic setting are hints of suppressed desires and the impending war. After Robbie is arrested, he enlists with the British Army to fight in World War Two, rather than remain in prison. Wright’s lengthy panning shot of the Dunkirk beach where hundreds of soldiers are stationed is dramatically raw. Almost absurd scenes are depicted where soldiers in a choir sing in a desolate fairground, whilst chaos reigns around them. As a fellow soldier of Robbie describes, “It’s like a scene out of the Bible.”

Meanwhile, both Briony and Cecilia become war nurses, the latter estranged from her family for supporting Robbie’s innocence. Knightley, often criticised for her overly pouty performances, is understated in her role as a prim and proper chain-smoking rich girl. But in the second half of the film, her fragility is evident as her love for Robbie is stretched by time and space.

As an adult Briony (Romola Garai) only begins to realise the full consequences of her actions and seeks to make amends. Her time in a London nurse’s school does little to redeem her past. To atone for her childhood mistakes she begins to write her first (and incidentally last) novel about the true events of Robbie’s arrest.

It is McAvoy, though, who carries the weight of the movie. His gentle brooding and rare smiles are endearing. Yet his new life as a soldier is met with neither a sense or revenge nor overt anger. He clings onto fading hope of reuniting with Cecilia despite the way his life has been undermined by the tall tales of a little girl. Though Briony is the only character that reaches a full redemption, one doubts her ability to comprehend that just as some lies are never justified, fiction can never make up for reality. Even with a seemingly happy ending.