Atonement

In the company of a few good friends, I watched this marvellous movie - one that I find intense, sophisticated, warm and strangely redeeming. Ian McEwan's sprawling novel is wrestled onto the big screen with a skilful directorial touch and a refreshingly smart script.

Atonement was based on the novel of the same name by British writer Ian McEwan. It is widely regarded as one of McEwan's best works and was shortlisted for the 2001 Booker Prize for fiction, an award he had already won for his previous novel Amsterdam. In addition, Time magazine named it the best fiction novel of the year and included it in its All-TIME 100 Greatest Novels, and The Observer cites it as one of the 100 best novels written, calling it "a contemporary classic of mesmerising narrative conviction."

As well as being shortlisted for the Booker Prize: it was also shortlisted for the 2001 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the 2001 Whitbread Book Award for Novel; it has won the 2002 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction; the 2002 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction; the 2002 WH Smith Literary Award; and the 2004 Santiago Prize for the European Novel. The movie itself won the Best Picture at the Golden Globe and 7 nominations for the Oscars.

Ian McEwan described: "It is about a girl, a young and foolish girl, who sees something from her nursery window which she doesn't understand, but she thinks she does and then, anyway, it's complicated..."

On a warm 1935 summer's day at an English manor house, 13-year-old Briony is fascinated by the behaviour of the adults around her, even though she cannot quite understand what they are doing. She witnesses two strange encounters between her big sister Cecilia and family friend Robbie and then acts on this in a way that changes everyone's lives. Through the war years, Briony tries to redeem herself as a nurse, and then much later as a novelist.

The movie ends with a meditation on the nature of atonement and authorship. The conclusion that Briony appears to reach is that no amount of authorial fantasizing (or, for that matter, wretched work as a nurse) can actually atone for the crime she committed as a child of 13. The ending attempts to consider differing forms of fiction - both lies in reality and in novels - and suggests that while the one can be irrevocably destructive, the other can offer a chance at happiness unachievable in life. Through a terrible and courageous act of imagination, she finds the path to her uncertain atonement, and to an understanding of the power of enduring love. Whilst Cecilia and Robbie can never be together due to tragic personal events, Briony redeems them (and through that act, redeems herself) by capturing their memories in the immortality of her very last novel.

Atonement is the fanciful Briony’s story and it is special casting indeed for Vanessa Redgrave to take over in the final act. The story that begins so frivolously, in elegant surroundings and shimmering long gowns comes to its conclusion with a piercing twist to the heart. It’s a powerful film and one whose images have even greater impact on reflection.

The most fascinating thing about the story is that the entire plot focuses on Cecilia and Robbie, yet it's only seen through Briony's eyes, in her authorial voice. This adds a level of understanding and insight that makes the story both involving and provocative. It also layers an intriguingly askance tone to segments that feel almost sporadic or irrelevant, most notably the extended war sequence, which includes the breathtaking use of a long tracking shot to capture the Dunkirk encampment. Director Wright makes sure every scene is gorgeously lit, photographed and edited, drawing out tiny details, a sense of humour and loads of emotion.

This is a story about how one naive misunderstanding can change the course of a family's history. Avoiding simplistic solutions, the film never lets us assign blame and seek revenge. And because of the confident film-making, the intensity and complexity of the characters' interaction is moving, wrenching and unforgettable.

It haunts me through the night how one small act of naivety at such a tender age would prove to have tremendous devastating effect on so many people, for life. It also scares me to think whether we can atone for all the misdeeds we have done to ourselves and to others, within our lifetime.