Atonement
This film, based on a novel, was released during awards season 2007 as an awards season contender. Director Joe Wright and Keira Knightly had worked together a couple of years earlier on a terrific adaptation of perhaps Jane Austin’s most famous book, Pride and Prejudice. Wright’s energetic touches and Knightly’s fully committed performance as Elizabeth made Pride and Prejudice quite a treat, even though it has been made several times before. My approach of films versus books is unconventional. If given the choice I will often choose to watch the film first and if I enjoy it then I will read the book. Films and books are different mediums and each have their own limitations. A script is usually about 120 pages and whereas a book could be of any length. Much of a book might be a character’s inner monologue but a screenwriter usually has to pick out the most effective way to relay a story visually and that often involves removing key sections of the book and/or changing