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atonement_l
ON THEIR BIG LOVE SCENE ''It had to be erotic and passionate,'' says Keira Knightley. ''Most directors just go, 'Oh, you know what to do.' Well, actually, I don't know what to do''
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES WHITE

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So is the attraction we see on screen simply from Joe telling you what to do? Or does it also have to do with a real spark between the two of you?
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY: You're right: Our job is to make sure that there's chemistry. And if you're working with somebody who you get on with, and you're on the same page as far as where your characters are going emotionally, you will get it. However, you don't always. Sometimes you can be with a really great actor that you really get on with, and for some reason, it's cold.
JAMES MCAVOY: I've seen actors who really fancy each other and are indeed f---ing, and it's rubbish.
KNIGHTLEY: In fact, a lot of directors say, ''Don't f--- each other'' because it'll ruin it.

Both of you say your favorite scene together is when you reunite over tea during the war.
MCAVOY: That was the scene that made me think, I can do this part. At one point it was dramatically altered.
KNIGHTLEY: Oh, that was awful! Remember? We nearly died!

How was the revised version different?
MCAVOY: It was made more emotive.
KNIGHTLEY: It was a different writer, and it was a perfectly well-written scene, but just not what made sense with the rest of [the film].
MCAVOY: The characters would explain how they feel. If they were angry, they were telling them that they were angry. Before we started rehearsal, Joe phoned me up and went, ''I just wanted to know what you think of the new scene.'' And I said, ''Joe, do you want me to be honest? I'm devastated. One of the scenes that made me feel like I had a connection to the script is now irrevocably gone.''

So did you win the battle?
MCAVOY: It took a few weeks, but Joe ultimately put it back. But not just because we wanted to.

The plot of the film is set in motion by a provocative letter Robbie accidentally delivers to Cecilia. James, a few months ago you told me you don't think the letter is vulgar, even though it contains the C-word. What do you think, Keira?
KNIGHTLEY: I completely agree. What's wonderful about it is that you set this piece up that you think is very safely 1930s — it's a very beautiful, very classic British film, wonderful costumes, the rest of it. And then you put the word c--- into it. And it completely explodes. I think in England it's not as big a deal as it is in America. I say it all the time.
MCAVOY: We call each other it all the time! But you've got to remember, it's not said in the film. It's only ever typed.
KNIGHTLEY: Nobody's been outraged by it. And I actually thought that they would. I know that Joe was asked by the studio at some point to take the word out, clearly because they thought that people would get really offended by it. And Joe said the immortal words, ''The c---stays in the picture!''

NEXT PAGE: ''He said, 'Read the book.' And I just went, 'No way! Give me the f---ing part and I'll read the book!'''


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