Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) is a highly imaginative young girl who lives a privileged life on a magnificent country estate. She has a crush on the housekeeper’s son Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), as does her elegant sister Cecilia (Keira Knightly). An elderly Briony recalls that she was 10 or 11 in the summer of 1935 when Robbie and Cecilia returned home after graduating from university. Briony’s and Cecilia’s father paid for Robbie’s education but class snobbery still distanced him from the Tallis girls. Thanks to a series of mistimed coincidences, the directions of these three people’s lives change forever after the precocious Briony makes an accusation that she will always regret.
Beautifully shot, the complex story reveals itself slowly, although at the beginning of the film the narrative is rather disjointed as it moves backwards and forwards in time. After the fateful day, the story catapults into the middle of World War II where both sisters are working as nurses and an exhausted Robbie is waiting to be evacuated from France. It is not until the end of the film that the dying novelist Briony (Vanessa Redgrave) finally brings meaning to the film’s title, revealing how she has made amends for the wrong she committed. As those who have read Ian McEwan’s book would know, it is a wonderful story and director Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice) is sure to be acknowledged when award time comes around.
Atonement (MA) is directed by Joe Wright.
