(TYPEWRITER LOADING)
(TYPEWRITER CLACKING)
EngIand 1935
(TYPEWRITER CLACKING)
(WOMEN TALKING)
-I finished my pIay. -WeII done.
Have you seen Mummy?
WeII, she'II be in the drawing room, I expect.
I hope you're not gonna be getting under our feet today, Miss Briony.
We got a dinner for 10 to prepare.
-HeIIo, paI, I hear you're putting on a pIay. -Who toId you?
JungIe drums.
-WiII you come and see it? -I'm not sure that wouId be quite...
Why don't you Iet me read it?
You used to make me those beautifuI bound copies of aII your stories.
-I've kept them aII. -I stiII want you to come.
-Let's see. -I have to go now.
Mummy, I need you!
Stupendous. It's stupendous, darIing. Your first pIay.
Do you think so? Do you think Leon wiII Iike it?
WeII, of course he wiII.
The Trials of Arabella, by Briony TaIIis.
-BRIONY: Cee. -Yes?
What do you think it wouId feeI Iike to be someone eIse?
CECILIA: CooIer, I shouId hope.
-I'm worried about the pIay. -I'm sure it's a masterpiece.
But we onIy have the afternoon to rehearse. What if the twins can't act?
You have to be nice to them. I wonder how'd you feeI if your mother
had run off with Mr What's-his-name who reads the news on the wireIess?
Perhaps I shouId have written Leon a story.
If you write a story, you onIy have to say the word ''castIe,'' and you couId see
the towers and the woods and the viIIage beIow, but...
In a pIay, it's...
It aII depends on other peopIe.
-Cee. -Yes?
Why don't you taIk to Robbie any more?
I do. We just move in different circIes, that's aII.
(WHEELBARROW RATTLING)
-Do we have to do a pIay? -Why do we have to?
-It's to ceIebrate my brother Leon's visit. -PIERROT: I hate pIays.
-JACKSON: So do I. -How can you hate pIays?
-It's just showing off. -You'II be in this pIay or you'II get a cIout.
-And I'II teII the parents. -JACKSON: You're not aIIowed to cIout us.
We're guests in this house. And what did the parents say we were to make ourseIves?
-WeII, Pierrot? -AmenabIe.
-Jackson? -AmenabIe.
AmenabIe, that's right.
Now, Briony, what's your pIay about?
WeII, it's about how
Iove is aII very weII, but you have to be sensibIe.
-I suppose you're going to be ArabeIIa. -WeII, not necessariIy.
-In that case, do you mind if I pIay her? -PIERROT: LoIa was in the schooI pIay.
Do say yes. It'd be the first decent thing to happen to me in months.
WeII, yes, aII right.
I suppose we shouId start by reading it.
If you're going to be ArabeIIa, then I'II be the director, thank you very much.
Sorry.
I'm going to do the proIogue.
''ProIogue.
''This is the taIe of spontaneous ArabeIIa,
''who ran away with an extrinsic feIIow.
''It grieved her parents to see their firstborn
''evanesce from her home to go to Eastbourne.''
(DOOR CREAKS)
Yes?
-Nothing. Just thought I'd watch. -BRIONY: RehearsaIs are private, I'm afraid.
You can see the pIay this evening.
-I'II have to work then. -WeII, I'm sorry, Danny.
JACKSON: Can we go for a swim now? PIERROT: Yes, yes, yes!
-No, I don't reaIIy think there's time! -PIERROT: CeciIia wiII Iet us.
I'm sure a haIf-hour break wouId do us aII good.
PIERROT: CeciIia? CeciIia!
CeciIia!
(BEE BUZZING)
(BUZZING)
(GASPS)
(PANTING)
CeciIia! CeciIia, CeciIia. PIease, can we go for a swim, CeciIia?
Yes, I don't see why not. Don't go out of your depth!
Can you do me one of your BoIshevik roII-ups?
-CECILIA: BeautifuI day. -I suppose so. Too hot for me.
-Are you enjoying your book? -No, not reaIIy.
It gets better.
I prefer FieIding any day.
Much more passionate.
-Leon's coming down today, did you know? -I heard a rumour.
He's bringing a friend with him. It's PauI MarshaII, the chocoIate miIIionaire.
-Are the fIowers for him? -Why shouIdn't they be?
Leon says he's very charming.
The OId Man teIephoned Iast night. He says you're pIanning on being a doctor.
-I'm thinking about it, yes. -Another six years of student Iife.
-How eIse do you become a doctor? -You couId get a feIIowship, now,
-couIdn't you? With your First? -I don't want to teach.
I said I'd pay your father back.
That's not what I meant at aII.
-Let me heIp with that. -No, I'm aII right, thanks.
-Take the fIowers. Take the fIowers. -I'm aII right. I'm aII right.
Oh, you idiot.
Do you reaIise that's probabIy the most vaIuabIe thing we own?
Not any more, it isn't.
CarefuI!
I'm...
(CAR HORN HONKING)
LEON: HeIIo, Robbie!
No need to encourage him.
Cee?
Mother?
-Where is everyone, Danny? -I don't know, sir.
DANNY: Sir. LEON: Gasping for a drink.
-WiII you have one? -PAUL: Rather.
-Whisky? -PIease.
-Leon! -Here she is.
CECILIA: Oh, I've missed you. I've been going compIeteIy dooIaIIy up here.
-This is my sister, CeciIia. PauI MarshaII. -I've heard an awfuI Iot about you.
-Likewise. -LEON: Where are we putting him?
In the bIue room. Mother's Iying down, she's got one of her migraines.
I'm not surprised, with this heat.
It's the big room next to the nursery.
Is the OId Man staying in town?
LEON: Looks Iike it. Some sort of rush on at the Ministry.
(THUDDING)
PIERROT: So aren't we doing the pIay? LOLA: No.
-JACKSON: Why not? -Don't ask me.
PIERROT: I don't Iike it here.
PAUL: There's aIways a probIem when a new brand comes about.
The remarketing, the re-packaging, the re-shaping.
Even the re-fIavouring in some cases, or whoIe new technoIogy.
I think our main chaIIenge is whether or not to Iaunch the new Amo Bar.
The Army Amo. Do you see? Pass the Amo?
(PAUL CHUCKLES)
My source at the Ministry is very reIiabIe,
I used to cIean his shoes at Harrow, informs me we have a good chance
of incIuding it in the standard issue ration pack.
Which means that I'd have to open at Ieast three more factories.
More if they bring in conscription, which I say is bound to happen
if Herr HitIer doesn't pipe down.
He's about as IikeIy to do that as buy shares
in Marks and Spencer's, wouIdn't you agree?
-This isn't very good. -I make a cocktaiI with crushed ice,
rum and meIted dark chocoIate. It's absoIuteIy scrumptious.
-LEON: Guess who we met on the way in? -Robbie.
-I toId him to join us tonight. -Oh, Leon, you didn't.
So, Robbie, the housekeeper's son, whose father did a bunk 20 years ago,
gets a schoIarship to the IocaI grammar, the OId Man puts him through Cambridge,
goes up at the same time as Cee, and for three years she hardIy speaks to him.
WouIdn't Iet him within a miIe of her Roedean chums.
Anyone got a cigarette?
I don't know what the heII he's doing these days, messing about in fIower beds.
As a matter of fact, he's pIanning on doing a medicaI degree.
LEON: And the OId Man said yes to that?
Look, I reaIIy think you shouId go down to the Iodge and ask him not to come.
Why? Has something happened between you?
For God's sake.
-When can we go home? -LOLA: Soon.
We can't go home. It's a divorce.
-How dare you say that? -WeII, it's true!
LOLA: You wiII never, ever use that word again! Do you understand?
-Now what are we going to do? -I'm aIways asking myseIf that.
My name is PauI MarshaII. You must be the cousins from the north.
-What are your names? -Pierrot.
-Jackson. -What marveIIous names.
JACKSON: Do you know our parents?
PAUL: WeII, I've read about them in the paper.
-What exactIy have you read about them? -Oh, you know. The usuaI sort of nonsense.
I'II thank you not to taIk about this in front of the chiIdren.
Your parents are absoIuteIy wonderfuI peopIe,
that's quite cIear, and they Iove you and think about you aII the time.
JoIIy nice sIacks.
We went to see a show and I got them at Liberty's.
-What was the show? -Hamlet.
Ah, yes. ''To be or not to be.''
I Iike your shoes.
Duckers in the TurI. They make a wooden thing, shaped Iike your foot.
Keep it forever.
PIERROT: I'm starving. When's dinner?
WeII, I might be abIe to heIp you there, if you can guess what I do for a Iiving.
-You've got a chocoIate factory. -Everyone knows that.
Then it wasn't a guess, was it?
There'II be one of these in every kit bag of every soIdier in the British Army.
Sugar casing, so it won't meIt.
JACKSON: Why shouId they get free sweets?
'Cause they'II be fighting for their country.
Our daddy says there isn't going to be a war.
Your daddy is wrong.
-CaIIing it the Army Amo. -Amo, amas, amat.
Top marks.
It's boring how everything ends in ''o.'' ''PoIo'' and ''Aero.''
-And ''Oxo'' and ''BriIIo''. -Sounds as if you don't want it.
Then I shaII just have to give it to your sister.
PAUL: Bite it.
You have to bite it.
BRIONY.: The Princess was well aware of his remorseless wickedness.
But that made it no easier to overcome the voluminous love she felt
in her heart for Sir Romulus. The Princess knew instinctively
that the one with red hair was not to be trusted.
As his young ward dived again and again to the depths of the lake,
in search of the enchanted chalice, Sir Romulus twirled his luxuriant moustache.
Sir Romulus rode with his two companions, northwards, drawing ever closer
to an effulgent sea.
So heroic in manner, he appeared so valiant in word
(TYPEWRITER CLACKING)
no one could ever guess at the darkness
lurking in the black heart of Sir Romulus Turnbull.
He was the most dangerous man in the world.
''Dear CeciIia, I thought I shouId write to apoIogise for my cIumsy
''and inconsiderate behaviour.''
(OPERA PLAYING)
''Forgive me if I seem strange but I'm...''
(CHUCKLING)
ROBBIE.: Dear Cecilia, you'd be forgiven for thinking me mad,
the way I acted this afternoon.
The truth is I feel rather lightheaded and foolish in your presence, Cee,
and I don't think I can blame the heat.
''WiII you forgive me?
''Robbie.''
Off out then?
ROBBIE: Yes, Leon's asked me to join them for dinner.
So that's why I've been poIishing siIver aII afternoon.
I'II think of you when I see my face in the spoon.
You're not a bit Iike your father. Not in any way.
That's because I'm aII yours. I'II be Iate.
Your shirts are hanging upstairs.
-Son. -Yes?
Nothing.
Briony! Is that you?
Are you aII right?
Do you think you couId do me a favour?
CouId you run ahead and give this to Cee? I...
-FeeI a bit of a fooI handing it over myseIf. -AII right.
Briony.
Briony!
(PANTING)
-I suppose he's what you might caII eIigibIe. -Rather.
He certainIy seems to think he's the cat's pyjamas.
Which is odd, considering he has pubic hair growing out of his ears.
I shouId imagine he'd give you a Iot of very noisy, boneheaded sons.
-He's quite a good egg, actuaIIy. -You say that about everyone.
-Leon! -Rummy, if it ain't my IittIe sis!
I wrote you a pIay, Leon. I wanted to do a pIay for you.
-The Trials Of Arabella. -WeII, there's stiII time.
-Doesn't have to be this evening. -No, it's impossibIe.
CECILIA: Briony. LEON: TeII you what. I'm good at voices,
you're even better, so we'II read it out after dinner.
-Briony, did you read this Ietter? -Yes, Iet's. That's a wonderfuI idea.
-Briony! -Here we are. My choc-taiI.
I insist you try it.
Wasn't there an enveIope?
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Do you mind if I come in?
LOLA: I've had the most appaIIing evening.
The twins have been torturing me. Look.
How awfuI.
Chinese burns.
That's right.
They want to go home. They think it's me that's keeping them here.
(LOLA SOBBING)
LoIa.
Can I teII you something? Something reaIIy terribIe.
Yes, pIease.
What's the worst word you can possibIy imagine?
(BELL RINGING)
-He's a sex maniac! -That's right.
-What's CeciIia going to do? -I don't know.
-You ought to caII the poIice. -Do you think so?
He said he thought about it aII day Iong.
AII you have to do is show them the Ietter.
-You won't teII anyone, wiII you, promise? -I promise.
Good. If he found out, there's no knowing what he might do.
You're right.
You better tidy your face. I've stiII got to change.
Thanks, Briony. You're a reaI brick.
(MEN CHATTERING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(PANTING)
BRIONY: CeciIia!
-It was a mistake. -Briony read it.
My God, I'm so sorry. It was the wrong version.
Yes.
-It was never meant to be read. -No.
(CLOCK CHIMING)
What was in the version I was meant to read?
I don't know. It was more formaI. Less...
-AnatomicaI? -Yes.
It's been there for weeks, and then this morning by the fountain...
I've never done anything Iike that before.
And I was so angry with you, and with myseIf.
I thought if you went away to medicaI schooI, then I'd be happy, but...
I don't know how I couId have been so ignorant about myseIf, so...
So stupid.
You do know what I'm taIking about, don't you?
You knew before I did.
Why are you crying?
Don't you know?
Yes, I know exactIy.
(SIGHING)
(BOTH MOANING)
Robbie.
CeciIia.
I Iove you.
(BOTH MOANING)
(DOOR OPENING)
Someone's come in.
CeciIia!
LEON: PeopIe were sitting out having dinner on the pavement.
It was aIways the view of my parents that hot weather encouraged Ioose moraIs.
In high summer, my sister and I were never aIIowed out of the house.
They thought the viIIagers wouId be unnecessariIy provoked.
What do you say, Cee? Does the hot weather make you behave badIy?
-Good heavens, you're bIushing. -It's just hot in here, that's aII.
LoIa, wipe that Iipstick off. You're far too young.
What about you, Briony? What sins have you committed today?
-I've done nothing wrong. -EMILY: Have you seen the twins recentIy?
They didn't Iook very happy Iast time I saw them, poor IittIe chaps.
-BRIONY: You know nothing about it. -Briony. I can't imagine what's got into you.
-I've never known you to be so rude. -BRIONY: WeII, they're not poor IittIe chaps.
-Just Iook what they did to LoIa. -What are you taIking about?
BRIONY: Jackson and Pierrot bruised her arm. Gave her Chinese burns.
I'm afraid she's quite right. I had to puII them off her.
How I got my war wound.
The twins did that, LoIa?
PAUL: Yes, it aII turned into a bit of a wrestIe,
I'm afraid. StiII, no harm done, eh, LoIa?
EMILY: WouId you go and find these boys, pIease, Briony?
TeII them dinner's ready, and where are their manners?
-Why do I have to go? -Briony, you'II do as you're toId,
or you'II go straight to your room.
-BRIONY: It's a Ietter! -Give it to me!
BRIONY: They've run away. EMILY: Who has?
BRIONY: The twins.
''We are going to run away because LoIa is so horrid to us and we want to go home.
-''AIso, there wasn't a pIay.'' -Don't worry.
We'II send out some search parties. They can't have gone far.
Cee, you come with me.
LEON: Pierrot!
CECILIA: Jackson!
PAUL: Boys!
Jackson!
LEON: Pierrot!
(RUSTLING)
(SCREAMING)
(GASPING)
(LOLA SOBBING)
LoIa? Are you aII right?
I'm sorry. I didn't... I'm sorry.
Who was it?
I saw him.
-It was him, wasn't it? -Yes, it was him.
LoIa, who was it?
It was Robbie, wasn't it? Robbie?
-You saw him? -Like you said, he's a sex maniac.
And you don't even know what happened before dinner.
I caught him attacking my sister in the Iibrary.
I don't know what he'd have done if I hadn't come in.
-You actuaIIy saw him? -Of course I did. PIain as day.
He pushed me to the ground. And then he put his hands over my eyes.
-I couIdn't actuaIIy... I never actuaIIy... -Listen. I've known him
my whoIe Iife, and I saw him.
Because I couIdn't say for sure.
WeII, I can. And I wiII.
LEON: CaII the poIice. And she'II be needing a doctor, as weII.
(LOLA SOBBING)
-It's aII right, dear. It's aII right now. -CECILIA: Is Robbie back yet?
I haven't seen him.
I know who it was.
-You saw him, then? -Yes, I saw him.
-Just as you see me? -I know it was him.
You know it was him? Or you saw him?
-Yes, I did, I saw him. -With your own eyes?
Yes. I saw him, I saw him with my own eyes.
EMILY: WeII done, darIing.
My brother and I found the two of them down by the Iake.
POLICEMAN: You didn't see anyone eIse?
I wouIdn't necessariIy beIieve everything Briony teIIs you. She's rather fancifuI.
When they went Iooking, I went up to my dad's.
-I did, honest. -POLICEMAN: Why was that?
To teII him aII about it.
-I know I shouIdn't have opened it. -EMILY: No, you shouId not.
But at Ieast you've done the right thing now.
(SNORING)
(TAPPING PIANO KEY)
Sir, there is someone coming.
-Time you went to bed. -But...
Now.
(DOOR OPENING)
EMILY: CeciIia!
You Iiars! You Iiars! Liars! Liars!
(GRACE WAILING)
(HARMONICA PLAYING)
Northern France Four years Iater
NETTLE: I says to him, I says, ''You can sit down there, twiddIing your thumbs,
''waiting to get your head bIown off, if you want to.
''I'm off out of it.''
(ROBBIE SHUSHING)
(FLOOR CREAKING)
MAN: Bonsoir monsieur. Bonsoir? ROBBIE: (WHISPERING) Let me do this.
(MAN 1 SPEAKING FRENCH)
(ALL PANTING)
(ROBBIE SPEAKING FRENCH)
MACE: What's his game?
-He says he's got something for us. -Fucking heII!
(MEN SPEAKING FRENCH)
Wait! We have food for you
Bread, sugar
And wine!
(SIGHING)
What are you doing here?
(MEN SPEAKING FRENCH)
When the retreat started, Panzers attacked,
and I was separated from my unit
So it's true, the EngIish are retreating
We'II be gone at first Iight
We fought aII those years, Iost aII those dead,
now the Germans are in France again
We wiII come back
we wiII throw them out
I promise you
Good Iuck
NETTLE: Come on, then.
How come a toff Iike you, taIks French and everything, ends up a private?
Not eIigibIe for officers' training if you join direct from prison.
-You're puIIing my tit. -No, I'm not.
They gave me a choice. Stay in prison or join the Army.
And for the record, the Iast thing I am is a toff.
Six months earIier
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
I'm sorry I'm Iate, I got Iost.
-HeIIo. -HeIIo.
-ShouId we sit down? -Yes, of course.
-I'm sorry, I can't remember, I... -Two. Thank you.
Where are you Iiving?
Tiny fIat in BaIham. It's ghastIy.
-The IandIady's rude and horribIy nosy. -You Iook the same.
-Apart from the uniform, of course. -Yes, I'm sorry. I've got to go back
-to the hospitaI in haIf an hour. -Oh, God, that...
-Sorry. -No.
Have you been in touch with your famiIy?
No, I toId you I wouIdn't.
Leon waited outside the hospitaI Iast week, I just pushed past him.
Cee, you don't owe me anything.
Robbie, didn't you read my Ietters?
Had I been aIIowed to visit you, had they Iet me every day,
-I wouId have been there every day. -Yes, but...
If aII we have rests on a few moments
in a Iibrary three and a haIf years ago, then I'm not sure,
-I don't know if... -Robbie, Iook at me.
Look at me.
(WHISPERS) Come back.
Come back to me.
ROBBIE.: Dearest Cecilia.
Dearest Cecilia.
Cecilia.
A friend of mine has a cottage by the coast.
Said we can borrow it when you're next on Ieave.
White cIapboard with bIue-painted window frames.
-I hope this bus never comes. -Here.
Something to think of whiIe you're away.
I Iove you.
(SIGHS)
(PLANES DRONING)
Some poor sod's gonna catch a packet.
CECILIA.: My darling. Briony found my address somehow, and sent a letter.
The first surprise was she didn't go up to Cambridge.
She's doing nurse's training at my old hospital.
I think she may be doing this as some kind of penance.
She says she's beginning to get the full grasp of what she did, and what it meant.
She wants to come and talk to me.
I love you. I'll wait for you. Come back.
Come back to me.
ROBBIE.: Come back. Come back to me.
Come back. Come back to me.
NETTLE: So where we going, guv?
Fucking hate those boots!
I hate them worse than aII the fucking Germans put together!
You'II have a job getting back to EngIand in your socks.
Come on, paI, you shouId be getting dressed.
-If I feII in, wouId you save me? -Of course.
(WATER SPLASHES)
Briony!
(GASPING)
(LAUGHING)
Thank you.
Thank you! Thank you, thank you!
ROBBIE: That's an incredibIy bIoody stupid thing to do.
-BRIONY: I wanted you to save me. -Don't you know
how easiIy you couId have drowned?
-You saved me. -Stupid chiId!
You couId have kiIIed us both. Is that your idea of a joke?
I want to thank you for saving my Iife.
I wiII be eternaIIy gratefuI to you.
ROBBIE.: The story can resume.
Our story can resume. I will simply resume.
NETTLE: Jerry, come and have a go at us in fucking South End.
Or better stiII, TrafaIgar Square. No one speaks the fucking Iingo out here.
You can't say, ''Pass the biscuit,'' or ''Where's me hand grenade?''
They just shrug. Because they hate us, too. I mean, that's the point.
We fight in France and the French fucking hate us.
Make me Home Secretary, I'II sort this out in a fucking minute.
We got India and Africa, right?
Jerry can have France and BeIgium and wherever eIse they want.
Who's fucking ever been to PoIand? It's aII about room, empire.
They want more empire, give 'em this shithoIe, we keep ours,
and it's ''Bob's your uncIe'' and ''Fanny's your fucking aunt''!
Think about it.
ROBBIE.: Dearest Cecilia. The story can resume.
The one I had been planning on that evening walk.
I can become again the man who once crossed the Surrey park
at dusk in my best suit, swaggering on the promise of life.
The man who, with the clarity of passion, made love to you in the library.
The story can resume.
I will return,
find you, love you,
marry you. And live without shame.
You can smeII the sea.
Fuck me.
-It's Iike something out of the BibIe. -NETTLE: Jesus Christ.
OFFICER: Come on, get everybody to cIean this mess up now.
ROBBIE: We've just arrived, sir. Can you teII us what we're supposed to be doing?
OFFICER: Nothing. Just wait. ROBBIE: Where are the ships?
A few made it in yesterday, Luftwaffe bIew them to buggery.
Lost 3,000 men when they sank the Lancastria.
High command, in its infinite wisdom, is denying us air cover.
A disgrace, a fucking disaster.
No, Iook, the thing is, you see, I'm expected back, you see.
There's over 300,000 men on this beach, Private. You'II have to wait your turn.
Just be gratefuI you're not wounded. I've orders to Ieave the wounded behind.
No, no, no, Ieave it, guv! Never trust a saiIor on dry Iand. You're best off out of it.
(GUN FIRING)
That's not right.
(GUN FIRING)
Christ.
MAN: Can you hear me, Iaddies?
I'm coming home!
MEN: (SINGING) Take from our souls the strain and stress
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm
Let sense be numb, let flesh retire
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire
O still, small voice of calm
(PANTING)
(MEN WHOOPING)
Guv'nor.
I have to get something to drink.
You need one. You're grey.
He's gone aII grey, can you see?
There. Come on.
MAN: AII I want's a cup of tea now.
MAN: What the fuck you doing?
MAN: I'm coming home! Laddie, I'm coming home!
(MEN SINGING)
Fuck 'em all! Fuck 'em all! The long and the short and the tall
Fuck all the Sergeants and WO 1s Fuck all the corporals
and their bastard sons
'Cause we're saying goodbye to them all As back to their billets they crawl
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean
So cheer up, my lads Fuck 'em all!
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Mike!
HoId up, guv.
Wait here.
WOMAN: Why don't you sit down?
It's so hot in here.
Take off your boots.
I have to get back. I promised her.
To put things right.
And she Ioves me. She's waiting for me.
(ARTILLERY FIRING)
(EXPLOSION)
Oi!
Wait, wait, wait.
Hey, what have you done with your boots?
-Look, you're sure you're feeIing aII right? -Never better.
Now I'm wondering whether the beach reaIIy is the best pIace for dinner.
(BOMB EXPLODING)
-I'm not sure, I don't recognise it. -Dunno.
-This'II do, down here. -No.
-No, no, it's further on. -What is?
This pIace I know, an oId cottage with white cIapboards
and bIue-painted window frames.
Aw, yes. That's right, that's where we're going.
-It's cIose to here. -We're there. This is it.
Here we are, guv. Down here.
That's aII right, guv. That's right.
Get your head down. Get your head down. There you go.
(HUMMING)
Tuck yourseIf in. Keep yourseIf warm.
Chew on a bit of this. But quiet Iike, or they'II aII be wanting some.
Try and get some sIeep.
(SINGING)
ROBBIE.: Find you.
Love you.
Marry you.
And live without shame.
I Iove you. Come back. Come back to me.
-NETTLE: Bit too much noise, guv'nor. -What?
-What noise? -You keep shouting.
-Some of the Iads are getting a bit peeved. -What?
(NETTLE SHUSHING)
-Christ. You Iook a bit rough. -Thing is, I've decided to stay on for a bit.
I'm meeting someone, and I'm aIways keeping her waiting.
Now, Iisten. Listen to me, guv'nor.
I went out for a Jimmy RiddIe just now. Guess what I saw!
They're getting themseIves sorted out down on the beach.
The boats are back, and a geezer from the Buffs is marching us down at 7:00.
We're away. We're off home, mate.
So get some more sIeep, and no more of your bIeeding shouting.
-AII right? -I won't say a word.
Wake me before 7:00, wouId you? Thanks so much.
You won't hear another word from me. Promise.
London Three weeks earIier
Bed castors shouId be Iined up and pointing inwards.
I found three yesterday that weren't. You know who you are.
Which of you were responsibIe for putting away the bIankets today?
-FIONA: I was, Sister. -I don't suppose you can teII us
-what you did wrong? -No, Sister.
LabeIs are foIded to the inside, are they not?
-Yes, Sister. -Do them again.
Nurse TaIIis, I'II see you in my office. The rest of you are excused.
-Is this job at aII important to you, TaIIis? -Very important, Sister.
Yesterday, you were seconded to men's surgicaI.
When your patient came round from his anaesthetic, it seems the first thing he did
was to ask for Briony. Who might Briony be?
-WeII, me, Sister. -There is no Briony.
You are TaIIis. Nurse TaIIis. Is that understood?
Yes, Sister.
There is no Briony.
MAN ON RADIO.: This is the BBC Home Service. Here is the news.
The BEF, with their French allies, are fighting a desperate battle
in the northern zone of the Western Front.
The Allied Forces have not lost cohesion, and their morale is high.
The RAF continues to give all the support in its power
to the Allied armies in northeastern France and Belgium. Railways, roads,
bridges and enemy troops have been continuously attacked, yesterday...
(WOMEN CHATTERING)
Thanks. I never couId make the scissors work with my Ieft hand.
Mummy aIways did it for me.
There, you're done.
Bother!
Night-night, Ponty.
Good night, TaIIis.
Don't panic! It's onIy me.
Fiona, I aImost jumped out of my skin.
So this is where you duck to after Iights out.
I thought you might be in the middIe of some tempestuous romance.
Don't you freeze to death up here?
I Iove London.
Do you think aII of this wiII be bombed and just disappear?
No.
I don't know.
Do you write about Sister Drummond?
-Do you write about me? -Sometimes.
-Can I Iook? -I'd rather you didn't. It's private.
I don't see any point in writing a story if you're not going to Iet anyone read it.
-It's not ready yet. It's unfinished. -What's it about?
-It's compIicated. -Yes?
It's just...
It's about a young girI, a young and fooIish girI, who sees something from
her bedroom window which she doesn't understand, but she thinks she does.
I probabIy won't ever finish it.
I Iook at you, TaIIis, and you're so mysterious.
I've never been mysterious.
-Do you know what I decided tonight? -What?
I couId never marry a man who wasn't in the RoyaI Navy.
(SNIGGERING)
(BRIONY LAUGHING)
(SHUSHING)
Here we are. CeciIia TaIIis.
I think this is her address.
Thank you.
BRIONY.: Dear Cecilia. Please don't throw this away without reading it.
As you'll have seen from the notepaper, I'm here at St Thomas'
doing my nurses' training.
I decided not to take up my place at Cambridge.
Oh, God.
I decided I wanted to make myself useful. Do something practical.
FIONA: It says in the newspaper the Army are making strategic withdrawaIs.
BRIONY: Yes, I saw that.
It's a euphemism for retreat.
No matter how hard I work, no matter how long the hours,
I can't escape from what I did
and what it meant,
the full extent of which I am only now beginning to grasp.
Cee, please write and tell me we can meet.
Your sister, Briony.
-FIONA: So do you? -Do I what?
Have a secret fiance in France. That's what everyone thinks.
No, of course not.
Imagine not knowing if he'd ever come back.
I've never been in Iove.
What, never? Not even a crush?
Oh, I had a crush once, when I was 10 or 1 1 .
I jumped into a river to see if he'd save me from drowning.
-Now you're teasing me. -Oh, no. And he did save me.
But as soon as I toId him I Ioved him, the feeIing sort of disappeared.
Something's happened.
(BELL RINGING)
NURSE: Outside, quickIy.
(CLAMOURING)
(GROANING)
Robbie.
Excuse me.
Nurse TaIIis, you speak a IittIe French, if I remember rightIy.
OnIy schooI French, Sister.
There's a soIdier in Bed 13. Go and sit with him for a minute. HoId his hand.
Off you go.
(PATIENTS SNORING)
(BOTH SPEAKING IN FRENCH)
Here you are at Iast
Sister sent me
for a IittIe chat
I remember your sister
she was aIways so nice
what's she doing now?
She is a nurse as weII
Did she finaIIy marry that man she was so in Iove with?
I've forgotten his name
Robbie?
She wiII soon I hope
Robbie
yes that's right
And you?
What is your name?
Luc.
Luc Cornet.
And you?
TaIIis.
That's pretty
I remember you now
the EngIish girI
You remember your first visit to MiIIau?
I was working by the ovens with my father.
I heard your accent
Can you do me a IittIe favour TaIIis?
These bandages are so tight,
can you Ioosen them a bit, pIease?
Of course
You remember my younger sister, Anne?
She stiII pIays that IittIe Debussy piece
do you remember?
She Iooks so serious when she pIays
And our croissants,
what did you think of them?
The most deIicious in MiIIau
Yes.
it's the quaIity of the butter
Yes
Is that why you came every day?
Because you know,
my mother is very fond of you
in her opinion,
we shouId get married in the summer
Oh yes?
Yes
I hope that's more comfortabIe
Do you Iove me?
Yes
Can you stay a whiIe?
I'm frightened
-TaIIis. -Briony.
Je m'appelle Briony.
SISTER: Stand up, Nurse TaIIis.
Now go and wash the bIood off your face.
NARRATOR.: The Navy has earned our undying gratitude. The Army is undefeated.
Courage has brought them through unconquered, their spirit unbowed.
This is the epic of Dunkirk.
A name that will live forever in the annals of warfare.
In the course of a comprehensive tour,
Queen Elizabeth is seen here visiting a chocolate factory in the north of England.
The confectionary magnate and friend of the British Army,
Mr Paul Marshall, gave the Queen a tour of the Army Amo factory
with his lovely, soon-to-be-wed fiancee, Miss Lola Quincey.
What a mouthwatering couple they are.
Keep the Amo coming. Our boys have a sweet tooth.
SecondIy, for a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication,
that such persons as have not the gift of continence,
might marry and keep themseIves undefiIed members of Christ's body.
ThirdIy, it was ordained, for the mutuaI society, heIp and comfort,
that the one ought to have the other.
I saw him.
Therefore, if any man can show any just cause
why they may not be IawfuIIy joined together...
I know it was him.
...Iet him now speak or forever hoId his peace.
(GASPS)
I saw him. I saw him with my own eyes.
(ORGAN PLAYING)
WOMAN: Let the nursey through.
They're going down to the country today. Never been out of London before.
I hope they get a nice famiIy.
They don't know what they're in for with this Iot.
Come on.
I'm Iooking for Miss TaIIis. CeciIia TaIIis.
Is she in?
TaIIis! Door!
I tried writing. You wouIdn't answer.
I have to taIk to you.
(DOOR CLOSING)
-So you're a ward sister now? -Yes.
Thanks.
I want to go in front of a judge and change my evidence, Cee.
Don't caII me that.
PIease don't caII me that.
I know what I did was terribIe. I don't expect you to forgive me.
Oh, don't worry, I won't.
You're an unreIiabIe witness. They'II never reopen the case.
WeII, at Ieast I couId teII everyone eIse what I did.
I can go home and expIain to Mummy and Daddy and Leon...
-So what's stopping you? -WeII, I wanted to see you first.
They don't want to hear any more about it.
That unpIeasantness is aII tidied away in the past, thank you very much.
But...
I'II be Iate. Better get moving.
Excuse me.
He sIeeps so deepIy.
-What is she doing here? -She wanted to speak to me.
Oh, yes, what about?
The terribIe thing I did.
Robbie. DarIing.
(BREATHING DEEPLY)
I'II be quite honest with you.
I'm torn between breaking your neck here
and taking you and throwing you down the stairs.
Oh, God.
Do you have any idea what it's Iike in jaiI? Of course, you don't.
TeII me, did it give you pIeasure to think of me inside?
-No. -But you did nothing about it.
-No. -Do you think I assauIted your cousin?
-No. -Did you think it then?
Yes. But yes and no.
-And what's made you so certain now? -Growing up.
-Growing up? -I was 13.
How oId do you have to be to know the difference between right and wrong?
What are you, 18?
Do you have to be 18 before you can bring yourseIf to own up to a Iie?
There are soIdiers of 18, oId enough to be Ieft to die by the side of the road,
-did you know that? -Yes.
Five years ago, you didn't care about teIIing the truth.
You, aII your famiIy, you just assumed that for aII my education,
I was stiII IittIe better than a servant. StiII not to be trusted!
Thanks to you, they were abIe to cIose ranks and throw me to the fucking woIves!
-Robbie! Look at me, Iook at me. -Don't!
Come back. Come back.
Come back to me.
CECILIA: Briony.
There isn't much time.
Robbie has to report for duty at 6:00, and he's got a train to catch.
So sit down.
There are some things you're going to do for us.
You'II go to your parents as soon as you can,
and you'II teII them everything they need to know
to be convinced that the evidence you gave was faIse.
You'II meet with a soIicitor, make a statement,
have it signed, witnessed, send copies to us. Is that cIear?
Yes.
You'II write a detaiIed Ietter to me expIaining everything that happened
Ieading up to you saying you saw me by the Iake.
Try to incIude whatever you can remember
of what Danny Hardman was doing that night.
-Hardman? -Yes.
It wasn't Danny Hardman.
It was Leon's friend, MarshaII.
I don't beIieve you.
He's married LoIa. I've just come from their wedding.
LoIa won't be abIe to testify against him now.
(BREATHING DEEPLY)
He's immune.
I'm very, very sorry for the terribIe distress that I have caused.
I am very, very sorry.
ROBBIE: Just do as we've asked of you.
Write it aII down, just the truth, no rhymes. No embeIIishments, no adjectives.
And then Ieave us be.
I wiII, I promise.
(DOOR CLOSING)
BRIONY.: I'm sorry. Could we stop for a moment?
MAN.: Of course. Is something the matter?
I just need a couple of minutes by myself.
(TAPE REWINDING)
...minutes by myself.
MAN.: Briony Tallis, your new novel, your twenty-first, is called Atonement. It's...
Briony?
I'm sorry. Could we stop for a moment?
Briony TaIIis, I'd Iike to taIk now about your new noveI, Atonement,
which comes out in a few days to coincide with your birthday.
-It's your twenty-first noveI... -It's my Iast noveI.
Oh, reaIIy? Are you retiring?
I'm dying.
My doctor teIIs me I have something caIIed vascuIar dementia,
which is essentiaIIy a continuous series of tiny strokes.
Your brain cIoses down, graduaIIy you Iose words, you Iose your memory,
which for a writer is pretty much the point.
So that's why I couId finaIIy write the book, I think. I had to.
And why, of course, it's my Iast noveI.
StrangeIy enough,
it wouId be just as accurate to caII it my first noveI.
I wrote severaI drafts as far back as my time at St Thomas' HospitaI during the War.
I just couIdn't ever find the way to do it.
MAN: Because the noveI is autobiographicaI, is that right?
Yes, entireIy. I haven't changed any names, incIuding my own.
And was that the probIem?
No.
I had, for a very Iong time, decided to teII the absoIute truth.
No rhymes, no embeIIishments.
And I think...
You've read the book, you'II understand why.
I got first-hand accounts of aII the events I didn't personaIIy witness,
the conditions in prison, the evacuation to Dunkirk, everything.
But the effect of aII this honesty was rather pitiIess.
You see, I couIdn't any Ionger imagine what purpose wouId be served by it.
By what? Sorry. Served by honesty?
By honesty.
Or reaIity.
Because, in fact,
I was too much of a coward to go and see my sister in June, 1940.
I never made that journey to Balham.
ROBBIE.: Do you have any idea what it's like in jail?
BRIONY.: So the scene in which I confess to them is imagined.
CECILIA.: He sleeps so deeply.
BRIONY.: Invented.
ROBBIE.: How old do you have to be to know the difference between right and wrong?
BRIONY.: And, in fact, could never have happened.
Because
Robbie Turner died of septicaemia at Bray-Dunes
on June the first, 1940,
the last day of the evacuation.
Cheerio, paI.
And I was never able to put things right with my sister, Cecilia,
because she was killed on the 15th of October, 1940,
by the bomb that destroyed the gas and water mains above Balham tube station.
(BOMBS EXPLODING)
So...
My sister and Robbie were never abIe to have the time together
they both so Ionged for, and deserved.
And which, ever since, I've...
Ever since I've aIways feIt I prevented.
But what sense of hope,
or satisfaction, couId a reader derive from an ending Iike that?
So, in the book, I wanted to give Robbie and CeciIia what they Iost out on in Iife.
I'd Iike to think this isn't weakness or evasion,
but a finaI act of kindness.
I gave them their happiness.
(BOTH LAUGHING)