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Casting
For Wright, casting became a lengthy process, particularly choosing the right actors for his protagonists. Having previously worked together with Keira Knightley on Pride & Prejudice, Wright expressed his admiration for the actress, stating, “I think she’s a really extraordinary actress”. Particularly in reference to the character’s unlikeability, Wright commended her bravery in tackling this type of role without any fear of how the audience will receive this characterisation, stating “[…] It’s a character that’s not always likeable and I think so many young actors these days are terrified of being disliked at any given moment-in case the audience doesn’t come and pay their box-office money to see them again. Keira is not afraid of that. She puts her craft first.” As opposed to casting McAvoy, “Knightley was in almost the opposite position—that of a sexy, beautiful movie star who, despite having worked steadily since she was seven, was widely underestimated as an actress.” In preparation for her role, Knightley watched films from the 1930s and 1940s, such as Brief Encounter and In Which We Serve, to study the "naturalism" of the performance that Wright wanted in Atonement.

On casting James McAvoy, who had refused previous offers to work with Wright, nonetheless remained the director's first choice. Producers met several actors for the role, including Jake Gyllenhaal, but McAvoy was the only one offered the part. He fitted Wright's bid for someone who "had the acting ability to take the audience with him on his personal and physical journey". McAvoy describes Robbie as one of the most difficult characters he has ever played, "because he's very straight-ahead". Further describing his casting process, Wright commented how “there is something undeniably charming about McAvoy.” On the most important quality which particularly resonated with Wright was “McAvoy's own working-class roots”, which McAvoy noted was something that Wright was very much interested in. Once Wright put both Knightley and McAvoy together, their “palpable sexual chemistry” immediately became apparent. The biggest risk Wright took in casting McAvoy was that “The real question was whether the five-foot-seven, slightly built, ghostly pale Scotsman had what it takes to be a true screen idol.”

In addition, the casting of Briony Tallis also proved challenging, yet once Wright discovered Saoirse Ronan, her involvement enabled Wright to finally commence filming. On the casting process for this particular role, Wright commented how, “We met many, many kids for that role. Then we were sent this tape of this little girl speaking in this perfect 1920s English accent. Immediately, she had this kind of intensity, dynamism, and willfulness.” After inviting Ronan to come to London to read for the part, Wright was not only surprised by her Irish accent, but immediately recognized her unique acting ability. Upon casting Ronan, Wright revealed how completing this final casting decision enabled “the film to be what it became” and considered her participation in the film “lucky."

Further casting processes included Romola Garai as an 18-year-old Briony, who was cast following Abbie Cornish's refusal, who backed out due to scheduling conflicts. She was obliged to adapt her performance's physicality to fit the appearance that had already been decided upon for Ronan and Redgrave. Garai spent much time with Ronan, watching footage of her to approximate the way the younger actress moved. Vanessa Redgrave became everyone's ideal to play the oldest Briony and was the first approached (although she was not cast until Ronan had been found), and committed herself to the role after just one meeting with Wright. She, Ronan and Garai worked together with a voice coach to keep the character's timbre in a familiar range throughout the film.

Critical response
The film received positive reviews from film critics. The review site Rotten Tomatoes records that 83% of 196 critics gave the film positive reviews, with a consensus that "Atonement features strong performances, brilliant cinematography and a unique score. Featuring deft performances from James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, it's a successful adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel". On other review sites, Metacritic records an average score of 85%, based on 36 reviews.

In Britain, the film was listed as #3 on Empire's Top 25 Films of 2007. The American critic Roger Ebert gave it a four-star review, dubbing it "one of the year's best films, a certain best picture nominee." In the film review television program, At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper gave the film "thumbs up" adding that Knightley gave "one of her best performances". As for the film, he commented that "Atonement has hints of greatness but it falls just short of Oscar contention". While the film received near unanimous praise upon its release, in which particularly the film’s casting not only solidified Knightley as a leading star figure within British period dramas, whilst igniting McAvoy’s success in leading roles. Most importantly, it catapulted the trajectory or a young Saoirse Ronan. Upon its release, The Daily Telegraph’s David Gritten describes how “Critics who have seen Atonement have reacted with breathless superlatives, and its showing at Venice and subsequent release will almost certainly catapult Wright into the ranks of world-class film directors.”

However, not all reviews were as favourable. Although The Atlantic’s Christopher Orr praises Knightley’s performance as “strong” and McAvoy as “likeable and magnetic, he concludes by saying “Atonement is a film out of balance, nimble enough in its first half but oddly scattered and ungainly once it leaves the grounds of the Tallis estate” and remains “a workmanlike yet vaguely disappointing adaptation of a masterful novel.” The New York Times’ A.O.Scott comes to a similar conclusion, saying “Mr. McAvoy and Ms. Knightley sigh and swoon credibly enough, but they are stymied by the inertia of the filmmaking, and by the film’s failure to find a strong connection between the fates of the characters and the ideas and historical events that swirl around them.”

On a more positive note, The New York Observer’s Rex Reed considers Atonement his “favorite film of the year”, deeming it “everything a true lover of literature and movies could possibly hope for.”, and particularly singles out McAvoy as “the film’s star in an honest, heart-rending performance of strength and integrity that overcomes the romantic slush it might have been.” and praising Ronan as a “staggeringly assured youngster”, whilst being underwhelmed by a “serenely bland Keira Knightley” Adding to the film’s authentic adaptation, David Gritten once again notes how, “If Atonement feels like a triumph, it's a totally British one.” Particularly McAvoy is singled for his performance, which “His performance as Robbie Turner, the son of a housekeeper at a country estate, raised with ambitions but appallingly wronged, holds the movie together.”