20 Best War Movies Released Since 2000

Every part of Atonement is shrouded by a cloud of war - the first act is haunted by the looming spectre of WWII, the second act throws its characters directly into battle, and the final act deals with the ghosts it left behind. 

Based on Ian McEwan's devastating novel of the same name, Atonement concerns a young girl (Saoirse Ronan) who accuses the lover (James McAvoy) of her sister (Kiera Knightley) of assault, an allegation that tears the couple apart just as the war scatters all three of them around the world. 

A bracing portrayal of Dunkirk follows, charting McAvoy's evolution from tragic romantic to doomed soldier, while his paramour waits for him and his accuser works as a nurse on the frontline.

Atonement moves with meticulous design, assured and bleak, as its damaged characters try to hold onto hope and the possibility for forgiveness amidst a conflict that offers none of them any rest. It's a horrible vision, but a stunning one, and it's final farewell is a tearjerker impossible to shake.