James McAvoy as Robbie Turner
One hot summer afternoon in 1935 thirteen year-old Briony Tallis is writing a play and waiting for her brother Leon to return home with his friend Paul Marshall. Her cousins, two irritating twins and a snotty older girl, are visiting, but they threaten to ruin all her hard work by not taking her play seriously. Out of the window she sees an interaction between her older sister Cecilia and family friend Robbie Turner. Confused by what it means, it leads to Briony making a horrible mistake that destroys Cecilia and Robbie’s future. Pressured by the adults questioning her and sure of Robbie’s guilt she stands her ground, but in the years to come her false accusation haunts her and she tries to undo what can never been undone.
Briony seeks atonement for destroying the lives of her sister and Robbie, but the story is not so much about her or Cecilia, as it is about Robbie. In the film version, James McAvoy gives a stirring portrayal of a young man that must survive, literally and metaphorically, with the outcome of Briony’s childhood lie. Robbie joins the military, so much of the book takes place in war-ravaged France. In one of the most powerful scenes, missing from the film, Robbie and his fellow soldiers enter a bar where an innocent man is being beaten to death. They are faced with the dilemma of standing aside as a man is murdered by a mob or to risk death themselves by attempting to stop the brutality. Another powerful scene, thankfully in both book and film, is a scene where Briony meets a French soldier that has been wounded.
Atonement: cover
Both the film and Ian McEwan’s novel deal with humanity so honestly, it is hard to imagine that these events did not actually take place. However, there are a few criticisms. For one, the film’s casting of one of the characters lacks the subtly of the novel (which I recommend reading before viewing the film). You will understand what I mean when you see it.
Also, the ending of the book in particular seemed odd. The final chapter was a thorough disappointment to me. The book had seemed to wrap up beautifully, but then an additional chapter was added that was not as well written and honestly did not do the rest of the book justice. I understand what the author was trying to do, but personally I felt it fell short in comparison to the rest of the novel. Needless to say when I reread the book I will just stop a chapter short, but that is the beauty of a book. While the ending is not different in the film, it does a better job.
However, all things considered, both versions are incredible. “Atonement” is a haunting tale that will deeply affect its audience. It is about human struggle, class, love and war, and the power of a lie that will not soon be forgotten.
