Atonement

The kind of collaboration that seems designed to produce the perfect British film, this adaptation of Ian McEwan's bestseller from screenwriter Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) and director Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice) actually pulls it off. Beginning in 1935, the drama pivots on the burgeoning love affair between privileged Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and servant's son Robbie Turner (James McAvoy). An intercepted love letter, sibling jealousy and an assault combine to tear them apart. Their hopes of reunion are further complicated by the outbreak of war, Robbie's conscription and the 1940 evacuation of Dunkirk - stunningly staged here by Wright. A handsome, heart-thumping, character-based love story, this is impeccably acted - Keira Knightley truly comes of age, blending cut-glass, Celia Johnson-like refinement and something altogether more passionate - and stylishly scored (by Dario Marianelli). Atonement transcends the expectations of its country-house setting, via the privations of war, to deliver a knockout twist that works better on the screen than it did on the page.