It may only be June, but the first of the Oscar contenders has arrived. I saw Atonement last night at a super-sneak screening in the appropriately posh Soho Hotel, and although I signed an embargo promising not to review it yet, hopefully backers Universal and Working Title won’t unleash the hounds on heat Towers if I reveal, simply, that it’s brilliant.
In 1935, James McAvoy plays a housekeeper’s son who in a moment of madness sends the wrong version of an apology note to Keira Knightley, sparking a tragic series of events that later sees him conscripted into the army at the start of World War II. Awards buzz will be intense on both lead actors, and especially for director Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice). Atonement is set for UK release in September.