Atonement is a cinematical masterpiece, that is written, acted, directed, photographed, and scored to perfection. The movie will spark great conversations about lies, and how sometimes, a careless mistake can ultimalely ruin a person's life.
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Atonement
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Is it age appropriate?
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Not age appropriate for kids under 15, age appropriate for kids over 16; suggested age 15. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Stellar literary adaptation too mature for kids.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 15–16
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
About Atonement
Parents need to know that this adaptation of Ian McEwan's best-selling novel set in pre-WW II England deals with themes -- including adolescent immaturity, class differences, lying, and passion -- that are too complex for all but the most mature teens to really be able to grasp and put in context. There are a couple of sexual situations, and the extended scene of the evacuation from Dunkirk is bloody and disturbing. A particular "bad" word ("c--t"), used out of desire instead of anger, is shown in typeface several times throughout the film. Other language includes "s--t" and "f--k"; there's also social drinking and period-accurate smoking.
Read our full review by Sandie Angulo Chen
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about the impact of Briony's lie. What misconceptions led her to think she saw Robbie committing a crime? What does the story convey about the power of words and the flexibility of truth? Older teens who are precocious readers may want to read the novel and discuss whether the film is an accurate, adequate adaptation.
Our Members Say
See all 28 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title on for age 15 and give it
Literary adaptation tackels lies, and their effects.
- I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
I love this movie. It is so good! My parents hated it. But that is probably because they only watched like fourth five minutes of it and then decided that it wasn't worth watching the rest of it. I think that anyone over the age of 12 should see this movie.
- I rate this title iffy for age 14 and give it
Absolutely wonderful
Attempting to describe this film's plot would be futile (I tried in my review of "Eternal Sunshine" and it didn't work out too well) for it includes too much to make sense on paper. There is a letter mix-up, a visitor who may not be who he people who invited him remember him as, a forbidden love and raging jealousy which leads a young girl to make a horrifying accusation which threatens the life of one of the star-crossed lovers. There was really nothing about this film that didn't work: it had great music, great acting, a wonderful script, and a brilliant conclusion that is heartfelt without being sappy. Another strong suit of the film is to replay multiple events from various people's points of view, making the event more clear each time that it is shown. I will say that the first half of the film is stronger than the second half. The front is set up like a romantic thriller and the second half is more of a war film, which weakens it ever-so-slightly, but even its weakest points are well above average; not to mention the second-half's hair-raising twist. "Atonement" is a great ecploration of love, childhood innocence and, ultimately, sorrow. As far as content goes, there is one sex scene that does not contain nudity but is rather extensive, as well as a few disturbing war images, as well as one rather bad word that is used in a desirable context. It is appropriate for most teens, but it probably won't really interest them; they may find it rather slow and tedious (even though they are sadly mistaken.) Just brilliant.
- I rate this title iffy for age 14 and give it
Absolutely wonderful
Attempting to describe this film's plot would be futile (I tried in my review of "Eternal Sunshine" and it didn't work out too well) for it includes too much to make sense on paper. There is a letter mix-up, a visitor who may not be who he people who invited him remember him as, a forbidden love and raging jealousy which leads a young girl to make a horrifying accusation which threatens the life of one of the star-crossed lovers. There was really nothing about this film that didn't work: it had great music, great acting, a wonderful script, and a brilliant conclusion that is heartfelt without being sappy. Another strong suit of the film is to replay multiple events from various people's points of view, making the event more clear each time that it is shown. I will say that the first half of the film is stronger than the second half. The front is set up like a romantic thriller and the second half is more of a war film, which weakens it ever-so-slightly, but even its weakest points are well above average; not to mention the second-half's hair-raising twist. "Atonement" is a great ecploration of love, childhood innocence and, ultimately, sorrow. As far as content goes, there is one sex scene that does not contain nudity but is rather extensive, as well as a few disturbing war images. It is appropriate for most teens, but it probably won't really interest them; they may find it rather slow and tedious (even though they are sadly mistaken.) Just brilliant.
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
SOOO SAD!!!!!!!
i thought atonement was one of the best/saddest movies i have seen in a while!! although i do wish there had been more interaction between cecelia and Robbie before they told each other they're in love!! JAMES MCAVOY= BRILLIANT!!!!!! he definatley should have been nominated for an oscar for this movie!! the music was also fantastic!! i absolutley love this movie!!
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
Please, people!
Honestly, it's not all that bad. I read the book and it was wonderful. "c--t", as a bad word in desire just annoys me because it is normal. GET OVER YOURSELVES, PARENTS! YOUR KIDS ARE MORE MATURE THEN YOU THINK, FOOLS!
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
- I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it
This certainly had the potential to be a masterpiece...
...Until James McAvoy pinned Keira Knightley up against a book shelf, effectively making himself vaguely resemble a mad scientist and she his long-limbered and oddly flexible Frankenshteen. Parents, be warned: this isn't for the kiddies. Language, sex, language, more sex, violence, more language, more violence. And more sex. The acting is brilliant, the music is brilliant, the characters are brilliant, and the plot is brilliant, but there's just something about this flick that doesn't ring true to me - it might be the melodrama. But it is on the verge of being something very amazing, it just doesn't hit that point. When critics called it the Titanic of this year, be warned: that's just what it is. You either leave the movie sobbing from the sentimentality or you leave the movie sobbing because it was so bad. Sound familiar, Titanic fans?
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
Good, but not great...
I've heard alot of people trash this movie, calling it "boring", "stupid", and "a waste of time", but then again, those people also liked "masterpieces" like No Country For Cop-Outs and There Will Be A "WTF" Ending. I mean, I didn't particulary enjoy the plot twist at the end of this movie, but at least there was an ending and not some crappy line uttered and then cut to black! Well, anyway, Atonement, as far as romances go, was pretty watchable. It kept you interested, the acting/casting was perfect, and the script was pretty decent. Watch this movie if you're really bored on a Friday night.
- I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it
Troubling
While I agree this film is NOT for children, I do think it had some moral discussion points. There is much to be said about the young sister who thinks she knows something and while her feelings have been hurt, she intentionally sets someone up to be wrongly accused. This spirals into an unbelieveable nightmare that she had no idea she was creating. When she matures and realizes what the consequences of her actions are, she tries to atone for it. Troubling, violent war scenes and sexual situation. Overall a very good adult film.
- I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
Sick
The movie portrayed far too much evil without so much as a hint of redemption. It was hard enough to watch from the beginning, but the ending left me felt as if I had been crapped on. The story line was monstrously sick and completely devoid of moral value. Giving it the title "Atonement" was deliberately deceptive, a horrible attempt to pretend that evil can be given some other face that what it has. There was nothing atoning about it, and the viewer is violated almost as much as the characters in the movie. I am appalled at the actors who agreed to do this, and shocked that people think it worthy of awards. It may well be the worst experience I have ever had in a theater.
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
atonement
Yes i think this movie was a bit over rated but watch it a few times before you make judgement. It was a very well put together story but confusing at times but overall a beautiful film with a message
- I rate this title off for age 2 and give it
The Most Overrated Movie I've Ever Seen
Atonement is probably the worst All of the characters in this movie, other than Robbie and Secilia, has terrible social behavior. A girl named Riley sends Robbie to jail after accusing him of sexually assaulting a girl because she was jealous. Robbie is then sent to war because he does not want to stay in jail. The character Secilia is good, but Keira Knightly's portrayal of her is just horrid. This movie is, in many occasions, told in flashbacks for no reason what so ever. For the first 20 minutes of the movie, the same exact scenes were show back to back to each other. For example, when Secilia breaks a vase and a shattered piece falls in the pond, that same exact scene is repeated right after the scene ends for no apparent reason. In the end, I did not care about what happens to any of these characters. Atonement is an absolute mess of a movie.
- I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it
- I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it
A well-written, entertaining movie!
Atonement is a story of a young girl, Briony Tallis, who loses her innocence, and in turn commits a terrible sin against her sister and her sister's lover. The guilt of this act eats away at her for years, so she tries to atone for what she has done in the only way she knows how. This movie contains graphic sexual language and sexual situations, including scenes of pedophilia. The movie also contains some blood and violence, including animal violence, and may be very disturbing for younger viewers. I recommend this movie for mature viewers.
- I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it
A lesson in misunderstanding
This was a beautifully filmed epic type picture. I enjoyed looking at it. but it's time shifting story telling was a bit confusing at times. For me, in the end it wasn't quite satisfying. But I really liked the originality of it anyway. I also had a hard time "buying into" the use of the controverial word, it seemed out of place to me. Because of the brief but fairly graphic sexual content I would not recomend this for those under 17.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
Well-crafted and thought-provoking
This movie from Joe Wright, based on Ian McEwan's novel of the same name, is certainly one of the highlights of the 2007 movies. It may seem a little slow at first (I think it was drawn out a bit too much), but it's worth the price of admission. It is smartly done, with scenes being shown and rewound and shown with a different POV. The story is wonderfully crafted, and is an example of how someone does something terrible that betrays others, and puts off making things right to the point where she ends up betraying herself too. A side story is how this is just one example of the many couples who were tragically separated by the war. This movie was very well done and deserves its Oscar nominations.
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
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