Keira Knightley shakes my hand, and it's the coldest in the room. "I've been holding ice," she says, meaning a cup of ice water. But she's a warm conversationalist, with a jittery energy you usually see on the Oscar podium. "I read the script and told him [Joe Wright, the director] I fell in love with Cecilia. I [asked] to play Cecilia. He convinced me to play Briony." So then what happened? "It was very confusing," she admitted.

As Cecilia, Knightley gives a gorgeous little performance, and the character doesn't look so bad herself. "It was pretty important for us to create a glamorous person, to fully understand what she gives up," she said, adding that Wright helped design the green gown in the opening scenes. "After 'Pride and Prejudice,' he had seen me in so many dresses, he knew what looked good." Maybe he should design her Oscar dress, too?