I have to say I didn't want to watch this film at first, simply because of the fact that the media over-hyped it. But on starting university I have to do an essay about whether the adaptation from book to screen was a good one, which obviously involved me reading the book (which was most excellent) and watching the film. The first 10 minutes or so of the film left me a little disappointed because there wasn't much going on and it didn't seem to grasp the real essence of the book, but after that I couldn't take my eyes away. The film just suddenly grabbed hold of me! What a film for both James McAvoy! Where did that talent suddenly come from? And we all know that Kiera Knightly can play grumpy english bitch very well, but, even she surpassed herself in this film!!!!

Carrie, Manchester,

i loved the film, had there not been any media hype before the film was released however, i would have found it more amazing. The hype was HUGE, i thus prepared myself for a film that would shatter me emotionally, stun and wow me. I got none of this, instead i got a rather good film with good acting, if a little contrived... i agree with the reviewer about the older Briony's lack of storyline etc... also considering Keira had already done an Old-England style film with Pride and Prejudice somehow I was less than impressed with this performance overall. That being said she was a great actor and the film was very good, its just a shame that it was overhyped so much beforehand

vicki, london,

Were we the only ones who laughed at the point where the lead couple were in flagrante in the library and Keira becomes aware of the girl outside and says that she can hear someone coming? No, just us then!

Derek & Anne, Cornwall, UK

Atonement is an excellent book which to my pleasant surprise made a seemingly effortless jump to the big screen and blew this viewer away. Both Keira Knightleyand James MacAvoy were/are awesome. I cannot understand how your reviewer and others on the comments page disliked this film. I found it beautifully shot, excellently acted and utterly engrossing from start to finish. I didn't notice any pre-release overhype here in Ireland. However, I think it is a film of which the British film industry should be justifiably proud, just as we Irsh should be equally proud of Lenny Abrahanson's remarkbale film Garage which I saw at the weekend. Definitely a victory for substance over packaging in this understated gem.

Peter Gunning, Midleton , Ireland

I love this film. The typewriter/cello soundtrack is amazing, as is the wonderful cinematography. The direction and the way the story was told were really inventive and clever - I loved the beautiful Dunkirk scene, it was one of the best cinematic moments I have ever witnessed. The acting was also very good, however the music took centre stage for me, being a cello player. I
love this film because it is the first and only film that has made me cry. Simple.

Aimee - aged 15, Edinburgh,

Hugely disappointed with the film. The acting was distinctly wooden and second rate. Neither my husband nor I felt any emotional connection with the characters. The only thing that held our attention was the beautiful photography.

Janice, Aberdeen, UK

Hugely disappointed with the film. The acting was distinctly wooden and second rate. Neither my husband or I felt any emotional connection with the characters. The only thing that held our attention was the beautiful photography.

Janice, Aberdeen, UK

Surely the film disappointment of the year. I find the praise heaped on this film by most critics very difficult to understand.
It was long, boring, unbelievable and totally pretentious. The acting by the main characters was adequate, but that is all. Certainly not Oscar material on any level. The appearance of Vanessa Redgrave at the end was a breath of fresh air. Refreshing to see a real actress amongst all the pretention. It did not make its period seem real, it was far to busy being "arty". I also left the cinema with a heavy feeling of depression. Cosmo Landesman was completely right about this film.

Roger Smaldon, Plymouth, UK

Thank you so much for your review! Having heard so many friends say how much they loved it I was beginning to think I was in a minority! I can honestly say I in no way connected with the characters and the way it was filmed was so pretentious as to be extremely irritating. I read the review today in Culture which mentioned the link to Titanic which was also an overly hyped melodrama, and wanted to share my thoughts. I was just on my way home from seeing The Assassination of Jesse James at the LFF which truly is a beautifully crafted and well acted film, I recommend it to those who thought Atonement without merit.

Alia , London,

Quite a good film spoiled by the Dunkirk part...
Can anyone explain the relevance of all the self-indulgent unrealistic / calm / quiet scenes of retreat to the story ?? ... especially the scene where he discovers the corpses of several school girls !

BRIAN BARNARD, brighton, sussex

The absence of a sure narrative at the heart of the film is, for me, the point of the film

Sure SH, Rye, you are right. If you have a movie like falling in love with deniro. A non story that delivers in feelings and things not said. But Atonement is badly shot, scripted and edited.

The story is great, the movie is embarassing.

Xeno Mars, London, London

Interesting. I did not see any TV reviews of Atonement and am glad I didn't. Saw too many of Borat and it was very largely spoiled by the repeated scenes of "funny bits".
Back to Atonement. Husband hates flash backs, got impatient and walked out. He is a 72 year old south Londoner. I am 63, American and stayed until the end and enjoyed it very much on many levels.
The acting was extremely good, the story was gripping enough to keep me awake, the Dunkirk scene I felt made the film and Redgrave was impressive. It was everything it should have been and entertained me to boot!
Husband, however, was wise to walk out. How much of it would resonate in his deepest memory? His family had a house (rented) and tried to hold on to their treasured posessions. He was evacuated after being "bombed out" of his home in Balham and he remembers the bomb hitting the shelter at Colemore Cross where his mother had gone. They were then evacuated to Towster where he was made to feel most unwelcome.

Carlyle and Len Braden, Croydon, U.K.

Great article, I totally agree, this film is pointless, old fashion and the actors boring( even though it seems no British film will get finance unless those two bore us to death one more time). Do we need another period film? are there no interesting stories to be told in present day Britain or in the world. Thank God for Michael winter Bottom and Ken Loach. This film made me cringe

Justin, london, uk

The absence of a sure narrative at the heart of the film is, for me, the point of the film.

It portrays the way in which war robs young people of the ability and right to have a narrative. When we are given the shock ending (perhaps you weren't shocked) it is overwhelming to find that WWII has robbed everyone, even the novelist and filmgoer, of narrative. The sacrifice of narrative is what has always impressed me about the experience of people in wartime.

SH, Rye,

I loved it. Been to see it at the cinema 3 times and each time was just as good as the previous. Completely disagree with Cosmo's review!! 2 stars you've got to be kidding! This film WILL get Best Picture at the Oscars!

Kevin, London, London

My husband and I thought it was wonderful. It left us emotionally drained as we were with the characters all the way. Acting superb.

pauline wood, Bingley, U K

i liked the film :)

holli, wakefield, england

I agree with the comments from Eddie Emma & RAlsford, with the exception of the latters view on Romola Garai's performance. She unfalteringly plays a faltering character. Mr Landesman is too often heavy on his critiscism of mainstay films, languishing in optimism over some obscure foreign low budget production with a bizarre plot & unheard of actors. Comparing his with the review of the Guardian|Observer critic...........Mr Phillip French rocks!

Mobson, London, England

Atonement had the chance to be a great movie. But the everlasting war scenes took that away. It left it unbalanced as though wright found it difficult to cement together two genres that could've worked easliy but didn't. Briony's attempt to atone left a bitter lingering taste days after, only because the film seem to be never ending. Wright never gave you the chance to really believe in the love story between Cecilia and Robbie, and so their painful separation never feels real. It grabbed my attention for the first hour and then left me too much time to think of my shopping list.

Anouar, London, England

I saw the film but as the story was unfolding i realised i had seen it before, i have seen that same story on the television, i am racking my brain, i know it was a detective story set during the second world war but i just can't remember which series it was. It was either "Foyles War" "Poirot" or "Miss Marple", i may be wrong about the series but i have definitley come across that story before, i wonder if anyone else feels the same.

Jacquie

Jacquie Hammersley, Godalming, Surrey

The sequence on the beach is the best 3 minutes of cinema this year, period. Good performances, great cinematography. To give this film 2 stars is not being objective but an obvious attemp to be controversial.

Eddie, Thurles, Ireland

I thought this film was beautiful. Any film that can make me feel something and leave a lump in my throat is definately worth the cinema ticket in my point of view.
It left me mulling over the question 'if only' for days!
I'm certainly buying the dvd!

Emma, Bristol,

Review is too harsh. Although the storyline is disjointed, this was a delight from a visual perspective. Saoirse Ronan and James McAvoy are very exciting new talents, Keira Knightly shows us what she does best, however, Romola Garai struggles to deliver a confident performance.

RAlsford, Cork, Ireland

simply stunning in every way, a beautiful piece of cinema which took me to a wonderful place . Regardless of what any jumped up critic may say this film was well worth the £7 ticket cost .

rachel brooks, durham, uk

Slow, so slow, I had to force mysself to stay till the end.

Eliana David Roat, Banstead, UK

Em. This reviewer clearly has no idea about what the film, or indeed the novel, hoped to achieve. Class is so obviously not a preoccupation in any pretentious way. McEwan outlines, with patent clarity, how insufferable class distinction is as a premise for judgement. Even if you entirely sidestepped the entire tone of both novel and film and just skipped straight to the just attribution of guilt at the conclusion, that would be obvious.

There is not supposed to be anything lush or indulgent about the Tallis home. It’s supposed to be an uncomfortable attempt to recreate former upper class glory but it is markedly decrepit, self conscious and overdone. And contrary to what our reviewer thinks, I feel here the film adequately reflects the novel.

There is a plethora of ways in which this review displays sheer ignorance but suffice to say that it’s overwhelming shortcoming is in its inability to recognise the intention behind every element he would see as grating or just wrong enoug

Cliodhna, Newry, Ireland

I found this film thoroughly enchanting. The chemistry between the two leads, Knightley and McAvoy, is undeniable.

I certainly recommend seeing this film whilst it is on at the big screen and would safely disregard Cosmo Landesman's review.

Tim Quarrell, London,

Yes, the film was overdone, but no one mentions Vanessa Redgrave's mesmerising performance at the end. She transformed the film into a moving, complex and memorable drama. It's worth seeing just for her accomplishment.

Jill, London, UK

Just come back from the cinema...i thought it would never end...complete pretension...agree that young Briony dominated the film...too much money not enough drama...should learn how to tell a story properly...

HE, Exeter,

I thought James McAvoy was brilliant, and often found his performance to be the most gripping and attention holding out of the lot. I enjoyed the film, and felt it prompted all sorts of discussion regarding that era, the destruction of war etc, once I'd left the cinema. Having a film stay with you in some way, be it only a theme or particular angle, once you've left it behind in the dark cavern of the multiplex, is quite an achievement on the part of that production I'd say.

Elle, Glasgow,

Saw this movie on Friday and couldn't disagree more. I thought that the movie was a brilliant adaptation of the book but if you didn't like the novel, as the review appears not to have given his crack about dated and redundant themes (and the AS Byatt/Amis name-checking) would indicate, I can't how you can like the movie as it is such a good adaptation. Like last year's Stranger Than Fiction, Atonement, as a movie, manages to be both an enthralling romance and a wrenching look at why stories matter.

Kate Halloran, Dublin, Ireland

I am so pleased to hear just one critic who is prepared to go 'off message' and reveal the truth about this over-hyped film. I completely agree with the reviewer's remarks about the post-modern knowingness and "condom of quotation marks". Couldn't have put it better myself.

TD, London,

Having seen this film last night, not having read any reviews or any of the hype that seems to surround it, I found it to be a real gem. Yes you may say that the story is trite, that you could have expected more from the director/cast, etc. But if you take the film and story as it comes with out any preconceived ideas or notions then I think that you will be in for a real treat. Give it a try but do not wait for it to come out on DVD as the big screen is the place to see the direction and the cinamatography.

Steve Cook, Epsom, Surrey