Many authors find themselves disappointed when their work migrates to the big screen.

Not Ian McEwan.

He is happy with the movie version of his best-selling novel Atonement— though he concedes that, at first, he had reservations about its big budget and the medium of film itself.

The British author now praises director Joe Wright's "lush visual sense" and "real sense and eye for instinct, for the emotional heart."

And he appreciates screenwriter Christopher Hampton's ability to incorporate details from the book into the screenplay