Atonement (2007)

This is a great, artsy film.
Brioly Tallis (Saiorse Ronan) is a thirteen-year-old year girl in 1935 Britain. The Tallis family is a wealthy one, though the father is never mentioned. Who knows what is going on there. Briony is a budding writer, with a true talent though the family doesn't really seem to care. She also has a crush on the housekeeper's son, Robbie (James McAvoy, never more attractive) but he is madly and deeply in love with Briony's older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley) who doesn't give him the time of day. Throughout that one fateful day in the hot summer of 1935, Briony misinterprets several events. Cecelia stripping down to her underwear to fetch a piece of a vase out of the fountain in front of Robbie, Briony reading the wrong letter, intended for Robbie's private thoughts only and then sees Robbie in front of Cecilia after having sex against a library bookshelf. Briony believes that Robbie is a sex maniac and decides to punish him.
That day, older brother Leon (Patrick Kennedy) returns home with his friend, Paul Marshall (Benedict Cumberbatch) in tow. Marshall seems to be nice, kind to the Tallis's visiting cousins, including the teenage Lola (Juno Temple), giving her a chocolate bar as a reward. "Bite it, you need to bite it." Yes, there is something fishy about him.
That evening, Lola's younger brothers fail to show up for dinner so everyone leaves to search for them, and despite the dark, Briony is by herself and stumbles upon a sight that no one should ever see. A man is raping Lola. Briony believes this man to Robbie and informs the police inspector of such. Cecelia refuses to believe that. Robbie is taken away to jail.
Years pass, as time continues to move. Robbie leaves jail to join the army though he is soon separated from the rest of the army and struggles to get back to England to see his beloved Cecilia. He sees some horrific sights, including the bodies of dead women somewhere in France. This triggers his memory of having to save young Briony after she foolishly jumps into the creek. She is delighted that he saved her while he believes her to be stupid for doing such a thing, which she was. This simple memory changes everything.
Cecilia has not had any contact with Briony in years. She is living in London where she is a nurse, living a life drastically different from the mansion in which she was raised. She meets Robbie for a brief lunch. That is the first contact they have had in years. Robbie leaves for the army, where he suffers from hunger, thirst and various illnesses and loneliness. There is also a brilliant long shot following Robbie around a meeting camp on the British shoreline. A brilliant scene with hundreds of dirty extras truly capturing what the actual scene must have looked like.
Briony (now played by Romola Garai) gave up an opportunity to study at Cambridge and is a nursing student, dealing with many nasty sights. She truly does feel guilty for what she has done and is only beginning to realize what she did was really wrong. She also attends her cousin Lola's wedding to the wealthy Paul Marshall. While there, she has a flashback to that horrible night. Robbie was not the one who raped Lola, but Marshall was instead, and now she can never testify against him as she is his wife. Briony tries to apologize to Cecilia has will have none of it, Robbie is likewise just as furious though he begs her to clear his name by writing everything down. She states plainly, "I'm truly sorry for all the distress I have caused."
Briony (now played by Vanessa Redgrave) is giving a TV interview. She is now the famous author she so longed to be. She is about to publish her twenty first novel an extremely autobiographical one at that. But there are some things she made up, like her confrontation scene with Cecilia which never actually happened. Robbie and Cecilia did not get there happy ending. Robbie died of disease while still in the army and Cecilia dies while hiding in the tunnels for a bomb shelter, but they get flooded. Briony created the happy ending because she felt that that was the least she could do. She owed them that happiness. Briony doesn't get a happy ending either. She is dying which is why she decided to write that book. She also never found love either, though while still a nurse, she did say she loved this dying man. He died in the next several minutes.
Briony had to live with her mistake for the rest of her life. She ruined Robbie's life and thus also ruined Cecilia's life. All because she was selfish. If she couldn't have Robbie then no one could. But she also probably believed that what he was doing was horribly wrong. No amount of atonement Briony puts herself through, and she puts herself through hell in that hospital in the beginning days of World War II, will allow her to forgive herself.
The film is an artsy one, with several scenes being shown from different points of view: Briony's and the truth. The set is gorgeous and the cinematography breathtaking. The score, incorporating the sound of a bee flying against a window and typewriter keys is a revelation and Dario Marianelli fully deserved that Oscar. The acting is also brilliant with McAvoy deserving of a nomination and Ronan robbed of her Oscar.
It is not an easy film to watch and cannot be viewed lightly. But you will think about for sometime to come. It is that good and thought-provoking. Grade: A