Atonement is a classy piece of work. James McAvoy builds further on his excellent ,varied career ,with this .and Kiera Knightley is very effective and beautiful , not least in pure Wallace Simpson ensemble of white swimsuit and matching bathing cap. There is a terrible beauty in the Dunkirk evacuation scene,that just builds and builds . It might be a little too stylised for a mainstream audience to embrace wholeheartedly,but that's probably just the "film snob/geek" in me. There is a strong sense of the pages turning ,the chapter headings skipping backwards and forwards through the narrative,enhanced by the unique soundtrack,with it's typewriter percussion.. No spoilers here , the ending,jarres slightly,but remains faithful i would assume to the structure of the novel. It throws the whole story into relief , leaves you musing on the story structure and was satisfyingly melancholic for my tastes,.and surely a twist that involves Vanessa Redgrave can only be classy.