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This is the story of right proper British star-crossed lovers Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) and Cecilia Tavis (Keira Knightley) who are separated when, shortly before World War II, house boy Robbie is accused of a crime he didn’t commit by Cecilia’s spiteful sister Briony, who fancies herself a writer and becomes the central figure throughout the story. Turner leaves prison when he is offered a role in the war four years later and, via the merciful hand of Fate, finds Cecillia Tavis again near the front. Once again, however, they’re pulled apart, this time by the war.

In short: Atonement is decisively boring, emotinally flat, and wholly disconnected. Early on, director Joe Wright insists on time-jumps, showing key scenes from multiple perspectives. This could have been interesting, but a meaningful bond is never established between the audience and characters; I couldn’t care any less about seeing Keira Knightley dunk herself in a fountain from upclose angle number two when I don’t care about the character. Wright’s little trick might have provided some bit of key information, but the multi-perspective scenes are abandoned half-way through and it’s all much ado about nothing. Towards the end Wright pulls out his time machine again and jumps into the life of Old Dying Briony when she’s trying to set things right through prose. I think Wright wanted us to ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at this Sudden Revelation but my eyes saw the wave of Rushed Forced Conclusion tearing down the Thames.

The harping is getting tiresome, I’m sure, but Wright spends little coin in making the audience care about the characters in a story that should ride on emotional ties. Robbie and Cecilia have no chemistry as a couple and we’re given no reason to either like or hate her. Turner gains the film’s sole meaningful connection only via sympathy because of Briony’s wrongful accusation and the inferred prison pain that we imagine but don’t see. Briony’s threadbare connection to the audience is that she is the immature villain. Redemption could have been had in the hands of the cast, but it never comes. Whether it’s the fault of the actors, Wright or both, I’m not sure, but anyone in the cast not named James McAvoy spew robotically and look dead behind the eyes for ninety-nine percent of the runtime; even McAvoy has his zombie moments.

There’s not much to speak of on the DVD in the way of extras. Everything’s standard, from the two ‘making of’ featurettes to the deleted scenes and Joe Wright’s commentary.

The only atonement in Atonement is that all events spin out humorously from Robbie’s misappropriated use of a certain four letter profanity that women far and wide take offense to for some reason I’ll really never understand other than society decrees it should be so. The film is called brutal, epic, romantic and epically romantic but really, I just can’t find a way to care. 

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