Atonement

What does it mean to atone for something? The word in and of itself has a deeply religious meaning behind it that involves being absolved of sin through repentance and forgiveness. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins and made them no more. In a non-religious sense, to atone for something one needs to be sorrowful for the thing that was done and make it right again. But what about if the action cannot be made right anymore? How then does one atone for it?  In 2001, British novelist Ian McEwan published his historical metafictional novel, Atonement, examining just such a situation. Spanning three time periods it examines just such a scenario and the long term implications of a single action that can never truly be sponged away. This novel forms the basis for the 2007 Best Picture nominee of the same name, a film that asks the same question: How do you atone for an act that irreparably destroy’s the lives of two innocent people?

The film opens in England, 1935. 13-year-old Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) accidentally oversees an altercation between her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightly) and the son of the family’s housekeeper, Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), whom Briony is infatuated with. From her distance the relationship between the two is misinterpreted. Robbie goes home and composes a steamy, vulgar letter about his feelings towards Cecilia, sets it aside and writes a more appropriate one to give to her. When sealing it up in an envelope, though, he accidentally grabs the wrong one to give to her, only realizing his mistake after giving it to Briony to deliver to Cecilia. Briony opens the letter before delivering it and, shocked by the content, believes Robbie to be a sex maniac. She delivers the letter to her sister anyway but later comes across the two making love in the house library and assumes he is forcing himself on her. 

Later that evening, two of the Tallis’s cousins, visiting for the summer, run away from home. The family grab flashlights and go out searching for them. Briony, part of the search party, comes across a man on top of her other cousin, 15-year-old Lola (Juno Temple). The man flees, leaving behind the sobbing Lola. Briony assumes it was Robbie based on recent events and Lola refuses to dissuade her of this assumption. The police are called and, based on Briony’s and Lola’s testimonies, pointing the finger directly at Robbie, he is arrested for rape. Briony turns over the explicit letter, further damning Robbie to a lengthy prison sentence. Four years pass and World War II is in full swing. Robbie is released from prison on condition of joining the army in the Battle of France. Briony is now a nurse treating wounded soldiers in London. She writes her sister repeatedly but Cecilia refuses to respond, still believing Robbie was innocent and blaming her for her part in getting him arrested. Lola is getting married to Paul Marshall (Benedict Cumberbatch), a family friend who was visiting on the day Robbie was arrested. Briony realizes, while attending the wedding,  that it was Paul, not Robbie, who raped Lola that day but now that the two are married Lola cannot legally testify against him. Briony cannot get Robbie’s record expunged as she would be deemed an unreliable witness and, without Lola’s testimony there is nothing she can do to make amends for all the damage she has done.

The film asks the question: how old do you have to be to know what is right and wrong? When speaking to the police, Briony positively identifies the rapist as Robbie, saying that she saw him with her own eyes. She knows this is not the case but she makes assumptions in her own mind and lies to the police about it, convicting the man based primarily on her eye witness testimony. This one act irrevocably alters the course of his life and, no matter how repentant she is later in life she cannot take this action back. There is a final act revelation that further cements just how impactful this decision ends up being. This one act of hers convicts an innocent man and ruins the life of her sister’s, too. 

In the second half of the film, during the war, the film cuts back and forth between scenes of Robbie in the war and Briony, now a nurse watching over wounded soldiers. Briony hasn’t yet discovered the true rapist but is feeling the burden of guilt for what she did to her sister. She pens a letter to Cecilia, apologizing for her actions. The writing of this letter is juxtaposed against images of her scrubbing her hands of the blood of wounded soldiers, washing away the stains in a clearly symbolic gesture the same way Pontius Pilatus did when trying to rid himself of the guilt of sentencing Jesus to his death. This letter, as well as all that followed, fall on deaf ears and Briony is not forgiven for her act. No amount of sorrow or repentance can take back her actions.

Finally, Briony tracks down her sister and confronts her, apologizing to her face for what she’s done. She finds, in her sister’s humble apartment, Robbie who is equally upset with her and unwilling to forgive. This film begins in a happy place, filled with mindless cares and glimpses of happiness and love. All of this is gone by the time Briony confronts the two lovers and confesses her actions to them. Confession cannot make it right, though, no matter how sincere. Even if it could overturn his conviction it couldn’t erase the last four years. By accusing him of a heinous crime she had effectively destroyed their lives and left him with this conviction over his head for the rest of his life.

The third and final timeline of the film takes place many years later. An elderly Briony has published her 21st and final novel, an autobiographical book that serves as a confession to the whole world of what took place on the evening that changed everything for three young people. Briony has a medical condition that will soon render her unable to communicate effectively and she uses what little time she has left to finally come clean to the world what she did all those years ago. Her book deviates in the later half from what really happened to Cecilia and Robbie, giving them the happily ever after she robbed them of in 1935. In life she could not atone for her actions so she does the only thing she can and write them the ending they deserved and she robbed them of. 

Actions can often have consequences that, no matter how much we try, we cannot rectify. What happens in Atonement is an extreme example of the destructive power of choices made without the thought of these consequences. Cecilia, played expertly by Keira Knightley, is so free and happy in the beginning and so bitter and angry later on. As good as she is at the many facets of this character, Saoirse Ronan is even better. She was thirteen at the time with only a few minor acting credits to her name but she is just brilliant here. She conveys, with a simple close-up on her eyes, a myriad of emotions that tells us exactly what’s going on behind those eyes. Romola Garai plays the slightly older Briony during the war and does a credible job at it but is just not on the same level. Saoirse was nominated for an Oscar for this performance, one of the youngest ever nominees, and it’s easy to see why. Looking at her career going forward it is no surprise that she has continued to be an acting powerhouse throughout the years and has transitioned from child star to highly decorated adult star.

Atonement is a movie with powerful themes and messages that are as timeless as time itself. A false accusation can destroy a life, even if it is proven to be false at a later date. A reputation can be irreparably harmed with a single act. Briony was an immature thirteen-year-old with a crush on Robbie. She misunderstood the things going on around her, basing her understandings on a limited view of the circumstances and her own callowness. That doesn’t excuse her actions, though, and she has to live with the consequences of it all. She will never be able to atone for those actions, not in this life. All she can do is try and make amends in the only way she knows how. That is the sad reality of life and the cautionary message of this film.

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster

Best Supporting Actress: Saoirse Ronan

Best Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Hampton

Best Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer

Best Cinematography: Seamus McGarvey

Best Costume Design: Jacqueline Durran

Best Original Score: Dario Marianelli (won)

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Release Date: December 7, 2007

Running Time: 123 Minutes

Rated R

Starring: James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Ramola Garai and Venessa Redgrave

Directed By: Joe Wright