On the hottest day of the summer of 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her older sister Cecilia (Kiera Knightley) strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching Cecilia is their housekeeper's son Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), a childhood friend who, along with Briony's sister, has recently graduated from Cambridge. By the end of that day the lives of all three will have been changed forever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had never before dared to approach and will have become victims of the younger girl's scheming imagination, and Briony will have committed a dreadful crime, the guilt for which will colour her entire life. From the director of Pride & Prejudice and based on the novel by Ian McEwen comes "the best British film in years" ? Sunday Times. "As close to perfect as a movie can get" ? Daily Mirror. "An Essential" 5 Stars - Empire The result? Once of the most widely acclaimed pictures of 2007. Atonement tells the story of Cecilia Tallis (Knightley), and the housekeeper?s son, Robbie Turner (played by the increasingly prevalent James McAvoy). Set during the heat of 1935, their coming together and the ensuing drama brings in Cecilia?s thirteen-year old sister, Briony, whose actions prove to have far-reaching repercussions. With a terrific cast and superb direction from the aforementioned Wright, it?s utterly understandable as to how Atonement has earned itself such praise. Diligently told, with some superb photography, Wright is blessed by terrific central performances by Knightley and McAvoy, both of whom have never been better. His trick also is to get the pacing of the film bang-on, taking his time to build up and layer events before he looks for any kind of pay off. As a result, as Atonement heads into its latter stages, it proves itself as a top quality drama, with a real emotional punch. Furthermore, it?s one of the increasingly rare breed of films that sticks in your head for days after. As a result, for once, it really is worth seeing what critics the world over have been raving about: Atonement really is something very special indeed. --Jon Foster