- 10
Describing Atonement as the most achingly romantic movie since Titanic, while totally accurate, doesn't begin to do justice to the across-the-board accomplishments of this hugely entertaining movie.
—Lou Lumenick New York Post
- 9
It's some kind of miracle. Written, directed and acted to perfection, Atonement sweeps you up on waves of humor, heartbreak and ravishing romance.
—Peter Travers Rolling Stone
- 9
Even when the characters can't say what they want to each other, or to themselves, nothing escapes Wright's attention.
—Keith Phipps Onion AV Club
- 9
...stunningly good...
—Leah Rozen People
- 9
Love is a battlefield, but this gorgeous tragedy proves victorious.
—Matt Stevens E!
- 9
This is one of the year's best films, a certain best picture nominee.
—Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times
- 9
Rarely has a fine novel been transferred to the screen as splendidly as this.
—Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times
- 8
...a beautiful follow-up to his 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice.
—Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune
- 8
...all the boxes for Oscar consideration.
—Peter Rainer Christian Science Monitor
- 7
...palatable...
—Ella Taylor Village Voice
- 7
For the most part, the result is a smashing success, filled with great performances and exquisite production design. But those final moments, in which the true nature of the story is revealed, are an unmitigated disaster.
—Ken Fox TV Guide
- 7
It's a nice movie where magnificence is in order.
—Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly
- 7
...an effective and affecting surprise this award-movie season.
—Glenn Kenny Premiere
- 7
...palatable...
—Ella Taylor LA Weekly
- 6
For both Briony and Wright, the act of setting a personal tone to an existing story comes with the incapability of knowing the damage one can inflict.
—Chris Cabin filmcritic.com
- 6
For both Briony and Wright, the act of setting a personal tone to an existing story comes with the incapability of knowing the damage one can inflict.
—Chris Cabin Reel
- 5
Released any other time of the year, the film may have been seen for what it is: an unspectacular adaptation of a modern literary classic. But it comes to us at the end of the calendar year, when publicists and pundits conspire to groom films, typically sight unseen, for the award-season horse races, so Atonement is accepted as a masterpiece by audiences almost without question.
—Ed Gonzalez Slant Magazine
- 5
Some critics have already been calling this period love story "swooningly romantic," so that ought to clue you in right there that this chick-lit flick may not be the holiday movie of your dreams.
—Pete Hammond Maxim
- 4
...an almost classical example of how pointless, how diminishing, the transmutation of literature into film can be.
—A. O. Scott New York Times