Knightley seems to exist in 2 different spheres

At only 22, Keira Knightley seems to exist in two different spheres of show business.

There's the high-powered beauty who stars in the blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean" films and lands on the cover of Vanity Fair. Then there is the art-house star who gives nuanced performances in such films as "Silk" and her Oscar-nominated turn in "Pride & Prejudice."

She is in latter mode for "Atonement," in which she reunites with "Pride" director Joe Wright for a compelling love story set against a World War II background.

Chatty and cheerful, the actress — and former sexiest woman in the world, according to the edition of the mag FHM — called from the "very posh" hotel Claridge's in London to discuss the new film.

Question: Is it exciting when you have a new film opening?

Answer: Yeah, it is. It's been amazingly well received in Britain, and it had a great reception at the Toronto Film Festival. I'm interested to see how Americans take to it.

Q: Do we tend to view films differently from the British?

A: Well, judging by the questions journalists have asked me today ... American journalists are constantly asking about the sex scene. European journalists are asking about technical things and the Dunkirk sequence. So, there you go.

Q: That's funny.

A: The fascinating thing about "Atonement" to me is that everyone comes out of it thinking different things. Different people find different things important about the movie. Guilt, regret, war — everybody comes out with something different. It speaks to many different kinds of people.

Q: What do you want people to take out of it?

A: I don't want to dictate. I think it's completely wonderful that people are totally taking different things from it. I've had friends go to it, and they say completely opposite things about the film, and that's terrific.

Q: Initially in the film, your character is rather unlikable.

A: At the beginning of the film, Cecilia is a very brittle kind of character. She is totally on edge. What I found fascinating is we all have days when we come across like that. We're being horrible to people for some reason, but we can't stop ourselves.

Q: Yes, you grow to like her as the film progresses.