Atonement

First, let me begin by saying that James McAvoy is dreamy.  I should also say that I adored this novel.  When I finished it, I had to re-read part of it because I was sure that I had misread it in my fervor to find out what happened.  I hadn't misread it and upon that realization, I cried.  Apparently, Ian McEwan's wife did the same thing, which makes me feel a bit better.  Knowing what happens takes away from the movie a bit, because the kicker in the story is rather important.  However, I predicted that I would cry like a baby and I did.  I spent the entire movie with a sense of dread because I knew what was coming and yet I couldn't help but hope for a different outcome.  I'm struggling to determine whether I felt that way because of the quality of the film or the quality of the novel.  A bit of both, I think.  There are times when I think Mr. McEwan writes the perfect sentence.  And there were moments in the movie when I thought the acting was flawless.  A couple of scenes stood out for me.  The library - for the obvious reason that Ms. Knightly and Mr. McAvoy have tremendous chemistry and the coffee shop.  Their interaction and his breakdown was incredibly moving.  It was worth the $10.25 and the red puffy eyes...