Atonement

Finally managed to find a little time to catch up with an old movie which I have missed out last year. Atonement is a story about how a small lie of a little girl could changed the course of lives for those people.

Thirteen years old Briony Tallis was in love with their gardener Robbie, while he was in love with her older sister, Cecil Tallis. Fate has it that Briony saw something she couldn't comprehend. In addition to it, a letter with adult contents which was too much for a little girl to imagine or understand.

During an incident whereby her slight older cousin Lola was sexually "assaulted", Briony decided she is to tell the world that Robbie was the culprit! The poor boy was framed for a crime he never committed and was thus sent to war. He and Cecil never had the chance to fulfil their love for each other. They were both dead by the time Briony had the courage to deal with it. She seeked for atonement in her old age by publishing a book, titled Atonement, to tell of the story and she gave the ending a twist whereby the two lovebirds were united and given the happiness they deserved.

The plot of Atonement is rather interesting. You see how people can be selfish in pursuing their own wants and needs. But I find it a little odd that girls didn't seem to act more appropriate as pompous girls of influential family. They seemed rather average like a girl from middle class. Perhaps the war changed the people. Who knows?

The flow of the story can be rather confusing for viewers who are not used to artsy film. Still it is tastefully done and intrigue your imagination. It is rather sad that Briony's repent and regrets isn't well portrayed. Instead it seem more like a case of paranoia or acting up-tight, then remorse. I can't sense even a tint of remorsefulness.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 fairy clouds. A fairly decent show, but watching it once is definitely more than enough.