Atonement (2007 Joe Wright)

His best film, written by Christopher Hampton, who wrote three drafts for Richard Eyre, who then went on to make Notes On A Scandal instead (fortunately). Then Joe Wright became involved:

'Let’s try and do it without a frame, so the audience at the end of the film is as surprised as the readers are at the end of the book'. He said ‘Let’s take away the voiceover, try and convey everything without that particular help. And let’s try not to worry about the linearity of the story.’ […] Eventually after another year, Joe and I went away to Italy for two weeks and just went through every single page. He’s very obsessive, Joe. Most of the really good directors I’ve worked with are completely obsessive. Right up until shooting he was ringing me up.

The book was more about Briony - they made the focus more on the couple. Thus you forget the ending.. where the Atonement of the title (tries) to take place, bookended with Vanessa Redgrave.

It's an annoyingly good film. I could go on about it quite a bit. The score is divine. Dario Marienelli won the Oscar - nothing else did. What was so good instead? No Country For Old Men. Well, I'm also a big fan of the Coens' film but I don't think really it's superior. It did at least get the BAFTA Best Film, but best adapted screenplay went to the Diving Bell and the Butterfly... Biggest irony is that the David Lean Award for Directing should so clearly have gone to Wright, who actually references Brief Encounter in this... It's every bit as good as Lean's earlier films, and better (I'd say) than his later 'epics'.

Seamus McGarvey's cinematography is so good, not just for the celebrated Dunkirk single take (for which camera operator Peter Robertson should have won his own Oscar - full info here) but for virtually any scene. (By the way, eagle-eyed Q spotted a chap hanging from the ferris wheel in that scene... such amazing coordination going on, the third and final take of the day as magic hour approaches...)