The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
Anybody out there seen Atonement? (SPOILERS)
mvansand76:
--- Quote from: Lynne on January 20, 2008, 02:04:47 am ---****SPOILERS****
I would like to see it at least one more time, though, to work out in my own mind what actually happened and what were Briony's revisions. After viewing number one, I would like to watch it with the idea that everything from Briony's POV is suspect to her own (mis)interpretation.
I was left with the impression that the letters to Robbie during the war were real, but that he did not make it out of Dunkirk alive. I thought that it was Briony's visit to her sister and her 'memory' of their reunion and Robbie being alive that was solely in her imagination - what she wanted to do but was too cowardly, embellished with her fantasy that her betrayal could somehow be undone by Robbie coming home from the war alive.
Did she find atonement by rewriting the story they should have had late in her life? That was our question leaving the theatre and I believe our consensus was 'Not likely.'
--- End quote ---
I agree! I have to see it again to really make up my mind about how it really went. I do think that the book is a little more clear on the matter, as I've heard from my friend who read the book. I started reading the book, but haven't gotten to the part with the twist yet...
MaineWriter:
One thing I decided, as I lay in bed thinking about this...I do think Briony studied nursing. The French soldier that died while she was caring for him gave her the description of how Robbie died. What I mean...I read one comment that said, "Here we had two instances of people who didn't seem all that sick, they were talking one minute, then started talking nonsense and suddenly, boom! They were dead." Actually, Briony experienced it with one person and used that to write Robbie's death in Dunkirk.
I think all of what we saw of Robbie's experience in France was from her imagination. It was based on what actually happened, of course, and she talked to the other soldier (Nettle) and learned about it from him, but what she wrote (and we saw) was what she envisioned. And from that perspective, it really makes me wonder about the scene of the dead schoolgirls. Remember Robbie was alone when he saw that? The other two men never saw them. Maybe Robbie never saw them, either. Maybe it was Briony imagining that Robbie wanted her dead for what she had done, and that is how she expressed it.
Thoughts?
L
PS, I changed the subject line to say SPOILERS so we can just assume anyone coming to this thread has seen the movie.
opinionista:
--- Quote from: MaineWriter on January 19, 2008, 07:44:37 pm ---Hi everyone,
I went and saw Atonement today. I have the book (I received it for Christmas) but haven't read it yet, so I can't compare them. But my impression...
SPOILER
I think the whole middle of the movie....from the time it says "Four years later, northern France" was all Briony's imagination. And that really makes me wonder how much, if any of it, was true. For example, Chrissi, you note that Robbie had a stack of letters. But did he? Did Cecelia and Robbie really reconnect in London? I do think Cecelia and Robbie both died, but everything else...how much is true?
Answering another question: Briony had a crush on Robbie and had had, for years. Seeing her sister with him at the fountain, with her sister dripping wet, she realized they were in love--and she didn't want them to be in love. She wanted Robbie to love her (even though that was entirely unrealistic).
I even wonder if Briony ever studied nursing.
Leslie
--- End quote ---
I saw Atonement on Friday. These are my impressions. I think Briony did study nursing. She probably did it out of guilt, to try to reconnect with her sister. I also think she did send that letter to Cee but the scene where Cee and Robbie meet at the restaurant and discuss Briony's letter didn't happen. In that scene Cee tells Robbie about Briony studying nursing and feeling bad about what happened. It seemed to me Cee was sort of forgiving her. She didn't seem angry or anything. I think that scene in particular was Briony's imagination. I think Cee and Robbie never meet again after his arrest, and both die young, hence Briony's decision to give them the happiness they didn't have even if it was fiction. I thought this movie was so sad. I felt bad for Briony because she lived her life with guilt. I thought Lola was worse than her, though.
Fran:
--- Quote from: MaineWriter on January 20, 2008, 09:11:05 am ---And from that perspective, it really makes me wonder about the scene of the dead schoolgirls. Remember Robbie was alone when he saw that? The other two men never saw them. Maybe Robbie never saw them, either. Maybe it was Briony imagining that Robbie wanted her dead for what she had done, and that is how she expressed it.
Thoughts?
L
--- End quote ---
Wow, Leslie! Yes, that would explain it perfectly.
And thanks for pointing out Briony's crush on Robbie. I had forgotten about the scene where she jumped in the water and pretended to drown so that he would have to rescue her and then how annoyed he was with her. Maybe she couldn't bear the thought of "losing" him to her gorgeous sister, thinking if I can't have him, she certainly won't. Plus, one has to consider the fact that Briony is in a pissy mood that day since no one's really interested in her play, and she had been so excited about it.
I'm wondering if the book follows the movie with regard to how much pages are devoted to Robbie during the war. Does the book just jump ahead like the movie and skip Robbie's trial and time in jail and Cee's split with her family? I think I would have liked more film time devoted to those things.
Mikaela:
--- Quote from: Fran on January 21, 2008, 12:25:43 am ---I'm wondering if the book follows the movie with regard to how much pages are devoted to Robbie during the war. Does the book just jump ahead like the movie and skip Robbie's trial and time in jail and Cee's split with her family? I think I would have liked more film time devoted to those things.
--- End quote ---
Yes, the book does jump ahead like that. It's in 3 distinct parts, much like the film. (I read it when it first was published so I do not remember all the novel details anymore).
In fact, the middle part of the novel with the (sometimes surreal, always frightening) struggles of the 3 soldiers making their way amid chaos and war towards Dunquerque is significantly more drawn-out and detailed in the novel. It is written so vividly that to me, personally, that was the best (and most emotionally challenging) part of the novel. After having read it I felt I had been there with them, and what a painful experience that was!
It's a very poignant notion that much of what Robbie felt and experienced during the trek to Dunquerque has been imagined and distilled through the guilt and atonement of the contrite Briony.
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