Book into Movie: Atonement

Literature as Redemption

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Atonement by Ian McEwan is about redeeming a wrong that can be undone. The story begins with an older Briony recounting the love affair between her older sister, Cecelia, and Robbie, the son of a servant, when Briony was thirteen. The young Briony has a crush on Robbie and watches the affair between Cecelia and Robbie grow; however, through Briony’s young eyes the affair does not seem as innocent and Briony accuses Robbie of an unspeakable act that tears Robbie and Cecelia apart.

The beauty of Atonement lies in the many layers that it creates for it’s reader. The first layer is that Briony is the narrator and author of the fictional account of Atonement. Briony has changed Robbie’s life forever and as she becomes older, she longs to repair the damage that she has created. As with all wrongs, how can you change what has been done? Especially when part of the wrong that has committed involves time. No one can ever recapture the years that were lost, nor a reputation squandered. Briony attempts to do this by creating the novel and retelling Robbie and Cecelia’s love.

The second layer of Atonement is in the story itself. Briony uses her voice as an author to atone for the wrong that she has committed. The gift of her storytelling and the written word become what she could not have ever done in real life. The written word becomes the happily ever not only for Cecelia and Robbie; but also for the audience and the reader because we can experience their love again and again.

One of the parts of the film that was done really well, was the telling of the story. Often times in such a complicated story that goes from several characters point of view and then involves shifts in time, will have a voice-over throughout the film to guide the audience in the story. When I saw Briony sit down for an interview, I thought that was where the film was going; however, it did not and I was pleasantly surprised. Instead, the film demonstrates different points of view by showing the same scene over and over again, just with a different perspective. At first, I found it confusing, but once I understood how the story was being told, it became easy to understand. I like when films do not hand you all the answers on a silver platter and this one definitely did not.

The movie Atonement is the rare case in which I liked the film more than I liked the book. The book was a bit dry and overly detailed at times. Although I enjoyed it as a piece of literature with all the multitude of layers as such, I enjoyed the movie even more because of the beautiful way it was filmed and how the film really concentrated on Robbie and Cecelia’s affair. The starkness of the images before the war and then after were beautiful; while in the novel I couldn’t quite grasp it.