Where to watch Atonement (2007)
Atonement is available to stream in GB on BBC iPlayer. It can also be rented or bought from Amazon and AppleTV.
A young girl’s mistaken interpretation and false accusation shatter her older sister’s relationship with a working-class man. As years pass through wartime upheaval, the consequences of that lie continue to shape their lives, while guilt and the desire to make amends become increasingly difficult to escape.
Cast: James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, Vanessa Redgrave, Brenda Blethyn, Juno Temple, Benedict Cumberbatch, Harriet Walter, Alfie Allen, Jérémie Renier, Anthony Minghella
Stream | GB
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Trivia & production notes
- Director Joe Wright brought together the same creative team from Pride and Prejudice, including production designer Sarah Greenwood, composer Dario Marianelli, and costume designer Jacqueline Durran, because he felt working with familiar collaborators made him feel safe and enabled better understanding.
- Screenwriter Christopher Hampton initially wrote the script with a linear structure that wove the elderly Briony's voiceover throughout the entire film, but rewrote it after Wright took over as director and wanted a different approach that felt more grounded in historical filmmaking.
- Keira Knightley studied films from the 1930s and 1940s like Brief Encounter and In Which We Serve to prepare for her role and understand the naturalism of performance that director Wright wanted.
- James McAvoy was director Joe Wright's only choice for the role of Robbie after seeing him perform at the Hampstead Theatre, despite the actor having previously turned down offers to work with Wright.
- Joe Wright cast five-foot-seven James McAvoy despite questioning whether the slight, pale Scottish actor had the physical presence to be a screen idol, though he was drawn to McAvoy's working-class background and charm.
- Saoirse Ronan was discovered through a tape submission where she spoke in a perfect 1920s English accent, surprising Wright by showing up to audition with her natural Irish accent before revealing her unique acting ability.
- To portray Briony across three different ages, Romola Garai spent considerable time watching footage of younger actress Saoirse Ronan and studied her movements to maintain consistency in the character's physicality.
- The famous Dunkirk beach sequence was filmed in a continuous 5½-minute take following James McAvoy's character across a quarter mile, accomplished with the cinematographer using a tracking vehicle, rickshaw on a ramp, and moving on foot.
- The production had only two full days to shoot all the Dunkirk beach war scenes and lacked the budget for 1,000+ extras, forcing the filmmakers to use a single long take instead of traditional coverage and multiple angles.
- Christopher Hampton adapted Ian McEwan's novel twice for the screen—his first draft was written with director Richard Eyre in mind before Joe Wright took over and requested a substantially different approach to the material.
Adapted from the Wikipedia article Atonement (2007 film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.
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