AceShowbiz -

Already been tipped to be a big Oscar contender for the 80th edition of Academy Awards held next year, it's no wonder to find "Atonement" becoming the center of attention when it encountered its North American premiere at the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival.

Most of the spotlights surely directed towards the drama's two leads Keira Knightley and James McAvoy as they walked down the red carpet to attend the screening Monday, September 10, 2007 at Elgin Theater, joined by director Joe Wright. Also present were English filmmaker Ken Loach and actress Rosamund Pike, who previously worked with Knightley and Wright in 2005's "Pride and Prejudice."

Recently opened the 64th Venice Film Festival, "Atonement" is a big screen adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel of the same name telling about Briony Tallis who irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses Robbie Turner, the lover of her older sister Cecilia, of a crime he did not commit. Wright initially wanted Knightley as Briony in her late teens, but the actress chose to play Cecilia instead, having immediately liked the character while also wanted to get away from playing girls on the brink of womanhood.