Atonement (2007)

★★★★

I'm a little surprised at myself for giving this movie four stars, since I rated the book five stars, and the movie does a remarkable job of staying true to the book. I actually even liked the movie's ending better than the book's. Reading the book first surely influenced my movie viewing, and I kept thinking that if I hadn't already read the book, I wouldn't have been able to understand what was going on in the movie as well. It jumps around - just as the book did. Also, just like the book, the movie abruptly switches gears at one point, and maybe that's harder to pull off in a movie. Of course, knowing what was going to happen took away the suspense, too.