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Literature to Film, lecture on (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

Atonement (2007) Director: Screenwriter: Novel: Ian McEwan 123 minutes

Cast Cecilia Tallis Robbie Turner James McAvoy Briony Tallis,Briony Older Briony Briony Taliis,Briony Grace Turner Singing Housemaid Allie MacKay Betty Julia Ann West Lola Quincey Jackson Quincey Charlie Von Simpson Leon Tallis Paul Marshall Emily Tallis Harriet Walter Fiona MacGuire Michelle Duncan Sister Drummond Gina McKee Police Constable Leander Deeny Luc Cornet Jeremie Renier Police Sergeant Peter McNeil O’Connor Tommy Nettle Daniel Mays Danny Hardman Alfie Allen Pierrot,Pierrot Jack Harcourt Frenchmen Michel Vuillemoz Jackson,Jackson Ben Harcourt Frenchmen Frank Mace Naval Officer Crying Soldier Paul Stocker Police Inspector Peter Wright Solitary Sunbather Alex Noodle Vicar John Normington Mrs. Jarvis Wendy Beach Soldier Roger Evans, Bronson Webb, Ian Bonar, Oliver Gilbert Interviewer Soldier in Bray Bar Jamie Beamish, , Nick Bagnall, Billy Seymour, Neil Maskell Soldier With Ukulele Paul Harper Probationary Nurse Charlie Banks, Madeleine Crowe, Olivia Grant, Scarlett Dalton, Katy Lawrence, Jade Moulla, Georgia Oakley, Alice Orr-Ewing, Catherine Philps, Bryony Reiss, DSarah Shaul, Anna Singleton, Emily Thomson Hospital Admin Assistant Kelly Scott Soldier at Hospital Entrance Mark Holgate Registrar Ryan Kiggell Staff Nurse Vivienne Gibbs Second Soldier at Hospital Entrance Matthew Forest Injured Sergeant Richard Stacey Soldier Who Looks Like Robbie Jay Quinn Mother of Evacuees Tilly Vosburgh Evacuee Child Angel Witney, Bonnie Witney, Webb Bem

1 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

Crew Director Joe Wright Novel Ian McEwan Screenplay Christopher Hampton Original music Cinematography Seamus Mcgarvey Film Editing Paul Tothill Casting Jina jay Production design

Chapter 1: First Play, England, 1935 Commentary by director Joe Wright, providing the commentary from a hotel over the banks of the Thames River in , Joe Wright spent two and a half years making this movie.

Originally the title sequence that Wright had in mind was a little puppet sequence. And these puppets would have lived in this dolls house that you see here, Wright’s mother is a puppeteer and made a complete set of Tallis family puppets. But they felt that the beginning was too long, so they . The idea was that they were playing with scale, that Briony, or rather the writer of this piece or the storyteller is God and manipulates people’s lives in fiction. Wright’s interest in playing with scale is why they start with the doll’s house and then introduce you to Briony. Young Briony appears to be enormous, as the camera approaches her, due to playing with that scale. Think of the enormity of what Briony does, and see how scale plays a factor.

Wright purposefully keeps Briony’s face obscured from the audience, with the idea that her wit and knowledge is always just a little bit ahead of the audiences, too allusive.

Biography for Joe Wright (IV) Date of Birth 1972, London, England, UK , Height 5' 9" Trivia • His parents founded Islington's Little Angel Theater, a puppet theater. • Is Dyslexic and left school with no O-levels. • His father was 65 when he was born. • In 2007, he became the youngest director in history to have a film open the (his film Atonement was chosen to open 64th Venice International Film Festival). • Attended the Camberwell College of Arts. • Named one of Variety's "10 Directors to Watch" (2006). • Trained as a filmmaker at London's St. Martins art school. • Became engaged to actress in September 2007. They met on the set of Pride & Prejudice (2005). • Directed Keira Knightley in an Oscar-nominated performance as Lizzie Bennet in Pride & Prejudice (2005) in what was his directorial film debut. • Father died when the director was only 19 years old. • Suffers from dyslexia.

This was the last HD DVD release by Universal Studios. Release prints were delivered to theaters with the fake title ‘Saturday’ (which is the title of author Ian McEwan’s subsequent, though unrelated, novel).

Budget, $30 million. Filming dates, May 2006 to August 2006.

2 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

James McAvoy considered the script the best he had ever read. Joe Wright had wanted Keira Knightley to play the role of Briony in her late teens, but Knightley immediately liked the character of Cecilia, and also wanted to get away from playing girls on the brink of womanhood and play a more mature character for once.

Biography for James McAvoy Date of Birth 21 April 1979, , Scotland, UK , Birth Name James Andrew McAvoy, Height 5' 7" Spouse Anne-Marie Duff (18 October 2006 - present) Trivia • Trained at Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. • McAvoy and Jessica Brooks were the first actors to tackle the complex roles Leto II & his twin sister Ghanima Atreides, the strange prescient "Children of Dune" (2003) based on 's novel of the same name. Although Leto and Ghanima were only nine years old in the novel, their ages were bumped up about seven years making them about sixteen for the Sci-Fi Channel's in March 2003. • His sister is Joy McAvoy, a singer in the Scottish girl group Streetside • His parents divorced when he was seven. • As a child, he wanted to become a missionary. • Shares a birthday with Luis Guzmán. • After his parents divorced, McAvoy and his sister moved in with their maternal grandmother. • After growing up in Glasgow, he moved to London at the age of 20. • Before he went into acting, he wanted to join the Navy. • While filming : The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), never saw McAvoy in his Mr. Tumnus costume before filming their scenes together. Henley's scared reaction upon seeing McAvoy is genuine surprise. • Former roommate of Jesse Spencer when they were both living in London. • Fan of Glasgow Celtic Football Club. • Joe Wright considered him for a role in his Pride & Prejudice (2005). Both director and actor refused to name the part. • Born to James McAvoy, a builder, and his then wife Elizabeth Johnstone, a psychiatric nurse. • Attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary in Jordanhill, Glasgow. • Enjoys , including Star Trek and the new Battlestar Galactica. • Was ranked #18 on 's '30 Under 30' the actors list. (2008). • While growing up, he wanted to be a priest. • Chosen as one of People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive for 2007. Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564215/bio

This was the opening film of the 2007's Venice Film Festival. Director Joe Wright, at 35, is the youngest directors to have a film open this prestigious event.

0:01:58 This music that you are listening to was recorded prior to them shooting, so they were able to play the music as they were shooting this scene, to add a sort of rhyme to the movement of the actors. It added a great excitement to the day, and gave her the right pace for this scene.

It is nice how the film starts in the beginning, there is a life before the film starts and there is a life after the film. Here you get hints to the life before the film started with the dialogue of the actors and the busyness of the household. It is a little bit resembling of the opening to , this kind of interrupting of the world.

John Macevo here, now watch how he puts his gloves on, kind of disheveled, not perfect, which is great. Wright states he hates it when things in movies are always so perfect.

3 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

0:03:15 Most importantly, this is a story about a writer, the mind of a writer and a story about storytelling. The play she has written is The Trials of Arabella.

0:03:29 Again playing with scale, that first shot was of the doll’s house and then we arrive to the shot of these two on the lawn. The shot depicts the characters as dolls, in the eye of God. Omniscient shot.

Keira Knightly spends her opening shots with her eyes shot in this scene. All of her costumes here are patterned after floral treatments. This helps to build into this section of being over burdened with patterns and textured of sorts, as opposed to the later sections where things were a bit sparser.

The delivery of the lines from each of the actors is something that was rehearsed. The reason for the emphasis on delivery is what can the accent or what can the delivery tells us about the character make-up.

0:04:13 Rack focus as the two girls lay back on the grass and we shift focus from Kiera to Briony.

0:04:46 None of these children had curly hair, and they were all slightly alarmed by their hairstyles for the picture.

0:04:56 The wallpaper behind Briony here was the largest they could find, again in a attempt for her to look smaller. It represents the magic garden that she lives in. Everything is pattern on pattern, as you look at the chairs and the clothes, etc. layers of stories and meanings to everything that you see and do.

0:05:53 Alfie Allen, playing the character of Danny, in the doorway, a bigger character in the book, but certainly a red herring in the story.

Chapter 2: Two Figures by a Fountain 0:06:21 The sound of the bee is what draws her to the window. Wright came up with the idea of the bee drawing her to the window; he liked the idea of the in a bees tail. A little bit foreboding about this bee and the noise, irritating, buzzes in your brain like your imagination. Again an analogy towards the character of Briony, her sting is going to hurt.

This is the set-up of the whole film, the idea of seeing events from a subjective perspective. It is a story told from a modern perspective, thus in a way the film is set in a contemporary time, looking back, rather than the perspective of the period.

4 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

0:07:24 Briony obviously thinks that she has some kind of power over her. This is also where she begins to start to think badly of Robbie. This is the beginning of her thinking badly of him. She is protecting her sister, and that is the motive that she acts on or at least a part of her motivation.

Notice the shots of Briony looking directly into the lens of the camera; this is done to make a connection with the audience. The beginning of this film is all told through the eyes of a child. Briony is the film; she is the director of this story.

Biography for Keira Knightley Date of Birth 26 March 1985, Teddington, Middlesex, England, UK, Birth Name Keira Christina Knightley, Height 5' 7"

Mini Biography The daughter of actor Will Knightley and playwright Sharman Macdonald. After she requested an agent at the age of three, her parents allowed her to work on productions in her summer holidays. Her first role was at the age of 9, in Moira Armstrong's A Village Affair (1995) (TV). However, Knightley's first high profile role came in 1999, as Sabe, Decoy Queen to 's Queen Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). Since then she has completed an impressive array of films including The Hole (2001), but is probably best known for her role of tomboy footballer Jules Paxton in Gurinder Chadha's Bend It Like Beckham (2002).

Mini Biography Keira Christina Knightley was born in the South London suburb of Richmond on March 26th 1985. She is the daughter of actor Will Knightley and actress turned playwright Sharman Macdonald. An older brother, Caleb Knightley, was born in 1979. Brought up immersed in the acting profession from both sides - writing and performing - it is little wonder that the young Keira asked for her own agent at the age of three. She was granted one at the age of six and performed in her first TV role as "Little Girl" in ": Royal Celebration (#5.4)" (1993), aged seven. It was discovered at an early age that Keira had severe difficulties in reading and writing. She was not officially dyslexic as she never sat the formal tests required of the British Dyslexia Association. Instead, she worked incredibly hard, encouraged by her family, until the problem had been overcome by her early teens.

Her first multi-scene performance came in A Village Affair (1995) (TV), an adaptation of the lesbian love story by Joanna Trollope. This was followed by small parts in the British crime series "" (1984), an exiled German princess in The Treasure Seekers (1996) (TV) and a much more substantial role as the young "Judith Dunbar" in Giles Foster's adaptation of Rosamunde Pilcher's novel Coming Home (1998) (TV), alongside Peter O'Toole, and Joanna Lumley. The first time Keira's name was mentioned around the world was when it was revealed (in a plot twist kept secret by director George Lucas) that she played Natalie Portman's decoy "Padme" to Portman's "Amidala" in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).

It was several years before agreement was reached over which scenes featured Keira as the queen and which featured Natalie! Keira had no formal training as an actress and did it out of pure enjoyment. She went to an ordinary council-run school in nearby Teddington and had no idea what she wanted to do when she left. By now, she was beginning to receive far more substantial roles and was starting to turn work down as one project and her schoolwork was enough to contend with. She reappeared on British in 1999 as "Rose Fleming" in Alan Bleasdale's faithful reworking of ' "Oliver Twist" (1999), and travelled to Romania to film her first title role in Walt Disney's Princess of Thieves (2001) (TV) in which she played 's daughter, Gwyn. Keira's first serious boyfriend was her Princess of Thieves (2001) (TV) co-star Del Synnott, and they later co-starred in Peter Hewitt's 'work of fart' Thunderpants (2002). Nick Hamm's dark thriller The Hole (2001) kept her busy during 2000, and featured her first nude scene (15 at the time, the film was not released until she was 16 years old).

In the summer of 2001, while Keira studied and sat her final school exams (she received six A's), she filmed a movie about an Asian girl's () love for football and the prejudices she has to overcome regarding both her culture and her religion). Bend It Like Beckham (2002) was a smash hit in football-mad Britain but it had to wait until another of Keira's films propelled it to the top end of the US box office. Bend It Like Beckham (2002) cost just £3.5m to make, and nearly £1m of that came from the British Lottery. It took £11m in the UK and has since gone on to score more than US$76m worldwide. Meanwhile, Keira had started A-levels at Esher College, studying Classics, English Literature and Political History, but continued to take acting roles which she thought would widen her experience as an actress. The story of a drug-addicted waitress and her friendship with the young son of a drug-addict, Pure (2002), occupied Keira from January to March 2002. Also at this time, Keira's first attempt at Shakespeare was filmed. She played "Helena" in a modern interpretation of a scene from "A Midsummer Night's " entitled The Seasons Alter (2002). This was commissioned by the environmental organisation "Futerra", of which Keira's mother is patron. Keira received no fee for this performance or for another , New Year's Eve (2002), by award-winning director Col Spector.

But it was a chance encounter with producer Andy Harries at the London premiere of 's Diary (2001) which forced Keira to leave her studies and pursue acting full-time. The meeting lead to an audition for the role of "Larisa Feodorovna Guishar" - the classic heroine of Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago (2002) (TV), played famously in the movie by . This was to be a big-budget TV movie with a screenplay written by Andrew Davies. Keira won the part and the mini-series was filmed throughout the Spring of 2002 in Slovakia, co-starring Sam Neill and Hans Matheson as "Yuri Zhivago". Keira rounded off 2002 with a few scenes in the first movie to be directed by and Vicar of Dibley writer . Called Love Actually (2003), Keira played "Juliet", a newlywed whose husband's Best Man is secretly besotted with her.

A movie filmed after Love Actually (2003) but released before it was to make the world sit up and take notice of this beautiful fresh-faced young actress with a cute British accent. It was a movie which Keira very nearly missed out on, altogether. Auditions were held in London for a new blockbuster movie called Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), but heavy traffic in the city forced Keira to be tagged on

5 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

to the end of the day's auditions list. It helped - she got the part. Filming took place in and the Caribbean from October 2002 to March 2003 and was released to massive box office success and almost universal acclaim in the July of that year. Meanwhile, a small British film called Bend It Like Beckham (2002) had sneaked onto a North American release slate and was hardly setting the box office alight. But Keira's dominance in "Pirates" had set tongues wagging and questions being asked about the actress playing "Elizabeth Swann". Almost too late, "Bend It"'s distributors realised one of its two stars was the same girl whose name was on everyone's lips due to "Pirates", and took the unusual step of re-releasing "Bend It" to 1,000 screens across the US, catapulting it from no. 26 back up to no. 12. "Pirates", meanwhile, was fighting off all contenders at the top spot, and stayed in the Top 3 for an incredible 21 weeks. It was perhaps no surprise, then, that Keira was on producer Jerry Bruckheimer's wanted list for the part of "Guinevere" in a planned accurate telling of the legend of "King Arthur". Filming took place in Ireland and Wales from June to November 2003. In July, Keira had become the celebrity face of British jeweller and luxury goods retailer, Asprey.

At a photoshoot for the company on Long Island New York in August, Keira met and fell in love with Northern Irish model Jamie Dornan. King Arthur (2004) was released in July 2004 to lukewarm reviews. It seems audiences wanted the legend after all, and not necessarily the truth. Keira became the breakout star and 'one to watch in 2004' throughout the world's media at the end of 2003.

Keira's 2004 started off in Scotland and Canada filming John Maybury's time-travelling thriller The Jacket (2005) with Oscar-winner Adrien Brody. A planned movie of Deborah Moggach's novel, "Tulip Fever", about forbidden love in 17th Century Amsterdam, was cancelled in February after the British government suddenly closed tax loopholes which allowed filmmakers to claw back a large proportion of their expenditure. Due to star Keira and in the main roles, the film remains mothballed. Instead, Keira spent her time wisely, visiting Ethiopia on behalf of the "" charity, and spending summer at various grandiose locations around the UK filming what promises to be a faithful adaptation of 's classic novel Pride & Prejudice (2005), alongside as "Mr. Darcy", and with and in supporting roles. In October 2004, Keira received her first major accolade, the Hollywood Film Award for Best Breakthrough Actor - Female, and readers of Empire Magazine voted her the Sexiet Movie Star Ever. The remainder of 2004 saw Keira once again trying a completely new genre, this time the part-fact, part-fiction life story of model turned bounty hunter Domino (2005). 2005 started with the premiere of The Jacket (2005) at the , with the US premiere in LA on February 28th. Much of the year was then spent in the Caribbean filming both sequels to Pirates Of The Caribbean. Keira's first major presenting role came in a late-night bed-in comedy clip show for Comic Relief with presenter Johnny Vaughan. In late July, promotions started for the September release of Pride & Prejudice (2005), with British fans annoyed to learn that the US version would end with a post-marriage kiss, but the European version would not. Nevertheless, when the movie opened in September on both sides of the Atlantic, Keira received her greatest praise thus far in her career, amid much talk of awards. It spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK box office. Domino (2005) opened well in October, overshadowed by the of Domino Harvey earlier in the year. Keira received Variety's Personality Of The Year Award in November, topped the following month by her first Golden Globe nomination, for Pride & Prejudice (2005). KeiraWeb.com exclusively announced that Keira would play Helene Joncour in an adaptation of Alessandro Baricco's novella Silk (2007).

Pride & Prejudice (2005) garnered six BAFTA nominations at the start of 2006, but not Best Actress for Keira, a fact which paled soon after by the announcement she had received her first Academy Award nomination, the third youngest Best Actress Oscar hopeful. A controversial nude Vanity Fair cover of Keira and kept the press busy up till the Oscars, with taking home the gold man in the Best Actress category, although Keira's Vera Wang dress got more media attention. Keira spent early summer in Europe filming Silk (2007) opposite Michael Pitt, and the rest of the summer in the UK filming Atonement (2007), in which she plays Cecilia Tallis, and promoting the new Pirates movie (her Ellen Degeneres interview became one of the year's Top 10 'viral downloads'). Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) broke many box office records when it opens worldwide in July, becoming the third biggest movie ever by early September.

Keira sued British newspaper The in early 2007 after her image in a bikini accompanied an article about a woman who blamed slim celebrities for the death of her daughter from anorexia. The case was settled and Keira matched the settlement damages and donated the total amount to an eating disorder charity. Keira filmed a movie about the life of , The Edge Of Love (2008) with a screenplay written by her mother Sharman Macdonald. Her co-star Lindsay Lohan pulled out just a week before filming began, and was replaced by Sienna Miller. What was announced to be Keira's final Pirates movie in the franchise, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (2007), opened strongly in June, rising to all-time fifth biggest movie by July. Atonement (2007) opened the Venice Film Festival in August, and opened worldwide in September, again to superb reviews for Keira. Meanwhile, Silk (2007) opened in September on very few screens and disappeared without a trace. Keira spent the rest of the year filming The Duchess (2008), the life story of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, based on Amanda Foreman's award-winning biography of the distant relation of Princess Diana. The year saw more accolades and poll-topping for Keira than ever before, including Women's Beauty Icon 2007 and gracing the covers of all the top-selling magazines. She won Best Actress for Atonement (2007) at the Variety Club Of Great Britain Showbiz Awards, and ended the year with her second Golden Globe nomination. Day saw - or rather heard - Keira on British TV screens in a new Robbie The Reindeer animated adventure, with DVD proceeds going to Comic Relief.

Into 2008 and Keira finally got noticed by BAFTA, with a Best Actress nomination, although the Academy overlooked her this time. She also got a nomination by the British Film Awards, Satellites, IFTAs, London Critics and . Atonement dominated many of the cast, crew and cosmetic categories at award announcements around the world. The film went on to win the Best British Film BAFTA, while Keira won Best Actress at the and Empires. The Edge Of Love opened well in June, bolstered by the rarity of two major female British leads. As of August, Keira is about to launch into promotions for The Duchess (2008) and has (2010) confirmed for filming in early 2009, in which she will play Cordelia opposite Sir ' Lear, and with Gwyneth Paltrow and as her rival siblings. Talks are ongoing regarding Keira reprising 's role in My Fair Lady (2010), to be produced by stage show impresario Cameron Mackintosh. Trade Mark • Prominent bone structure: high defined cheekbones and a strong square jawline Trivia • Daughter of actor Will Knightley. • Member of the Heathham House Youth Project. • Younger sister of Caleb Knightley.

6 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

• Trained in dancing. • The similarity between Knightley and Natalie Portman meant that during the filming of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), their own mothers could not tell them apart once in makeup. • Her role as the decoy queen in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) was kept secret in order to not spoil the surprise, it was maintained through the promotions that Portman played both the Queen and the decoy. • Supports West Ham United. • Mother is actress-turned-author Sharman Macdonald, who wrote 'When I Was A Girl I Used To Scream And Shout' and 'The Winter Guest'. • Tatler announced that Keira is the most desirable single woman in the UK (2004). • Has dyslexia. She had to wear special glasses in adolescence to help her read. • Glamour magazine's choice for "Most Glamorous Film Actress" (2004). • The Royal Shakespeare Company of Stratford, England, held a 2004 poll asking movie viewers to vote for the actor and actress they would love to see play , and the winners were Knightley and James Marsters. More than 2,000 people voted for more than 150 different actors for both roles. Keira triumphed over , , Scarlett Johansson, and Juliet Landau in the vote. Knightley said, "I am absolutely thrilled to have come top of the poll, particularly as Juliet is a role I would very much love to play in the future." (April 23, 2004) • Voted #1 in New Woman magazine's 50 Most Beautiful Celebs 2004. • Voted The Sexiest Film Star of All Time by Empire magazine poll. [September 2004] • She did her first topless scene at the age of 15, in The Hole (2001), whilst the film was released in 2001 it was filmed in 2000. For legal reasons due to her age her mother had to agree and the set was closed. • Auditioned for, and was accepted to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in London, England. • At 16, she went to Esher College to study for her A Levels, but quit the course when offered the role of Lara in Doctor Zhivago (2002) (TV). • Voted #18 in FHM 100 Sexiest Women 2005. • Credits her dark looks to her mother's Black Scottish heritage, who were descendants of the Spanish Armada. • She's an idol in several forum communities from Heavengames.com, one of the most famous websites about Real Time Strategy computer games. • When auditioning for the role of Jackie Price in The Jacket (2005), she had suffered food poisoning a few days earlier. She decided to audition anyway and the film makers liked her "acting" for the scene, as Jackie Price was to be a woman with many issues of loss and pain as well as being physically sick in general. • She has bought a flat in Richmond Upon Thames (2005) but has said to have only have spent a few weeks there. However, she plans to fill it with her own painted canvases. • Voted second sexiest voice, behind Sir Sean Connery, in a poll by the UK's Royal National Institute for the Blind, commissioned to celebrate 70 years of their Talking Books service. • Named #53 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list. • The Daily Mirror named her "Actress of the Year" in December 2005. • At age 20, she was the third-youngest woman in Oscar history to be nominated for Best Actress. • As of February 2006, says she plans on remaining living in London and will not move to Los Angeles to further her career in American films. • Friend of Sienna Miller. • Loves to collect shoes. • Friend of the Italian actor Andrea Logiudice. • Was considered for the role of Kate Meer in Neil James's "Ghost Seeker: Genesis" in 2006. Both Lindy King (Knightley's agent) and Knightley herself liked the script, but the shooting schedule of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) meant that the project had to move on without her. • Her hero is her cast mate in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), . • Named #11 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005) • Named #9 on MAXIM magazines "Hot 100" list of 2006 • Employed a stylist to dress her for premieres and award ceremonies. The stylist also dresses Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Kidman. • Attended an engagement party for Jennifer Lopez and Chris Judd. • Trained four days a week for three months in preparation for King Arthur (2004). She did about two hours of weight lifting, and then three hours either boxing, fighting, or horseback riding. - Cosmopolitan, August 2004. • Said auditioning for the role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera (2004) was the singularly most embarrassing moment of her life because "I knew I couldn't sing it." The role eventually went to trained opera singer Emmy Rossum. - Marie Claire 2005. • Told NewWoman in 2004 that for King Arthur (2004), she endured an amazing seventh-month training session. • She has a personal trainer. - Tatler 2005 • Took elocution lessons at the beginning of her career. • Invited to join AMPAS in 2006. • She attended a pre-Emmy party where she purchased a $7,500 pair of earrings. • Her 21st birthday party cost more than $30,000. Actors, designers, and other industry types attended. • Named #5 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006). • Ranked #20 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list. • Named Most Beautiful Woman and Most Beautiful Face by Independent Critics (indiecritics.com). • Her first name means 'dark'. • Made her debut on the Forbes 100 Most Powerful Celebrities in June, 2007. She came in a #71 beating out other high profile actresses like Scarlett Johansson and Reese Witherspoon.

7 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

• Voted #15 in the AfterEllen Hot 100, a list of the hottest women in entertainment as voted by lesbian and bisexual women (June 2007). • Was considered for the role of Ann in Evening (2007), but wasn't able to do it due to schedule conflicts. • In January 2007, the Daily Mail newspaper published an article about a girl who had died from anorexia which falsely suggested that Keira was also anorexic and showed a photograph of her in a bikini alongside an emotive quote from the girl's mother "If pictures like this one of Keira carried a health warning, my darling daughter might have lived". Keira successfully sued the Mail for libel. • The face of Chanel's fragrance 'Mademoiselle' (September 2007). • Was ranked #10 on Forbes List of The 20 Top-Earning Young Superstars.(2007). • Was named Empire Magazine's #9 in the list of 100 Sexiest Stars. • The green satin gown she wore in Atonement (2007) was voted the public's favorite film costume of all time in a survey by Sky Movies and In Style magazine (January 2008). • In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated her earnings for the year at $9 million. • Was ranked #5 on Entertainment Weekly's '30 Under 30' the actress list. (2008). • Ranked #87 on the 2008 Telegraph's list "the 100 most powerful people in British culture". • Voted #10 in FHM 100 Sexiest 2008. • Measurements: 32A-22-33 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine). Salary Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) $5,000,000 Where Are They Now • (May 2005) Filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), simultaneously. • (January 2006) NYC for Vanity Fair Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0461136/bio

0:08:15 Here they give you a sense of Cecilia’s restless here, with her running, and actions in fast forward. The kids running through the scene are the pins to the scene. This is the first day of filming with Keira Knightly. Again notice the choices in the patterns, the pattern on pattern scheme. Everything in this scene is almost too rich, kitsch (tastelessness, brashness). Meaning almost rip to the edge of rotten, this applies great to this section of the film; rip to the edge of rotten.

0:09:57 This scene was shot over about three days, as they kept losing the sun. They were very lucky with the use of this house. The internal and exterior worked at one location. So when ever there was sunshine they would run outside and catch those shots, and if not, they could stay indoors in get the shots they needed indoors.

Continuity error: In the fountain scene, Cecilia pulls her blouse over her head before she steps in the fountain. When she rises from the water and dresses again, the buttons of the blouse are open.

Wright likes to keep his actors moving, so even if they are moving together in the frame, he does this little bit of having them move around each other. Otherwise it is just the background moving and it is very static. The same thing happens when you have people moving in cars, only the background is moving and the image is rather static.

0:10:58 The fountain was built for the movie, it was not at this location. There is another fountain underneath it, which was much smaller.

Difficult or rather a complex scene to shoot, as Kiera had to dry her hair between takes, and change her costumes for each take, added to the complexity of getting this moment on film.

0:12:06 This is the moment that they acknowledge to themselves that they have a sexual attraction to each other. Dramatically this is a really important moment in the story.

8 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

0:12:54 If you saw Pride and Prejudice you will recognize the stock footage inserted for hands here. And then a poetic shot, as his hand hovers over the surface of the water.

0:13:37 Here now she is going down not the depths of her imagination, walking into that tunnel is the hinter land of her imagination.

Chapter 3: Close Relations 0:13:43 Benedict Cumms was very upset not to get to drive that car, it is a stunt man driving the car, the actor was not allowed to drive it.

Now the essential themes of the story are set up and then in walks in the antagonist. The character that is going to blow things apart and that is poor Marshall. Wright loves this period and the costumes of this period and he really makes good use of them in depicting the characters and their personalities. Notice again, pattern on pattern. Jackie Duran the costume designer.

Notice the snobbery that Cecilia has towards Danny, and it is kind of endemic, the notion that she is not an entirely nice person.

0:15:29 Emily Tallis, the mother with her migraines. In the book she has a much bigger part.

A lot of Kiera’s costumes are based on photographs of Lee Miller, a wonderful photographer of the 1930’s and 40’s.

Wright introduces a water motif with Cecilia, so she is always associated with water. They selected one house, where they could do a lot of 360 filming, and spent five weeks filming at this location, Stokesay Court, Onibury, Shropshire, England, UK (Tallis home). For the filming, if it was a sunny day they filmed outside, if it was a cloudy day they filmed indoors. There is an advantage to filming in one location like this, as your actors make a connection to the environment, they feel like they belong there.

0:17:52 (bathtub day Robbie dreaming, plane overhead) In the section of the movie set in 1935, there is a scene where Robbie is daydreaming and the image of a four engine bomber crosses the screen. The plane is a Short's Stirling, which entered service in 1939.

0:18:03 This is a very strange scene to shoot, on the page it doesn’t seems quite as disturbing as it does in the film. Here is our antagonist at work. Benedict plays the predator brilliantly, and very much against his natural character, the role of Marshall. Benedict is a very, very gentleman’s gentleman.

Duckers on Turl Street (http://www.duckerandson.co.uk/shoes.php) is still there, I believe. It is a men’s show store that makes custom shoes for men. Just like he states, they make a mold of your foot, so they can make a perfectly tailored shoe for their customers.

9 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

“You have to bite it.” Shocking line and the aggression in which it is delivered, states Wright.

0:20:25 This is Briony’s secret garden, which will be later violated by the incident.

0:21:25 That note in this piece of music is like sexual ecstasy to the director, that is why he selected it. The note and the music together is intensely erotic.

Shamus is using a small handheld light to flash back up into the camera, so that it gives a moment like these two are metaphysically talking to each other during this scene.

Factual error: In the scene where Robbie is writing the letter to Cecilia, he listens to the opera La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini. The recording we hear is the 1956 sir Thomas Beecham recording.

0:22:24 James is a physical actor, and doesn’t hold back from using his whole body. There is a legend circulating that James was a gymnast previously, and the director Wright teased the piss out of him about being a gymnast.

0:24:20 Another Lee Miller inspired dress, at least the top of the dress. They had to have a few of those dresses made, since they were so fragile, especially during the love making scenes.

Chapter 4 Written Apology 0:25:00 In each set there is little signs of the story that is going to be coming up, and just left of Robbie there is a picture of two soldiers, wounded, and walking across an empty landscape, which in a way is a precursor of what is going to happen to Robbie. Just like the bedside lamp next to Briony, there is a cut out of the house of Parliament, which is a precursor of what will happen to her world.

0:25:45 Notice the play with rhythms and sounds in this film. That is something that Wright worked with his editor on developing.

0:26:33 One of the great potentials for films is to play with their rhythms, so this is another nice scene, with Briony running down the hillside and the rhythm displayed between the two of them here. You have the slowness of the rhythms here, before the staccato rhythms that come later.

0:27:08 The taking of this letter, with the knowledge that she is going to read it is one of the worst things that Briony does. Wright states that he finds silence in movies quiet creepy sometimes.

Continuity Error: When Robbie gives Briony the letter for her sister, she arrives at the fence with the hem of her collar down. In the next shot, her collar is up. In the next shot, it's down again.

10 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

0:27:38 This was the first section that Wright storyboarded, and he stated that he got really excited about doing the movie after storyboarding this section. Great tension with the staccato of intercutting with these rhythms.

0:27:49 Tricky steadicam shot, since they are going through that narrow doorway, looks simple but it is rather complex.

0:28:03 Here Wright is cutting between extreme close-ups to extreme wide shots.

28:08 That being your extreme close-up, and 28:10 that being your extreme wide shot.

0:29:26 They spent a great deal of time trying to figure out the costume for Lola here, as it is supposed to be her attempt at looking grown up, but coming off with a rather silly costuming effect for herself. An adolescent dress for this period is rather difficult.

Some great performances by Juno Temple, she was also in Notes on a Scandal, ironically.

0:30:19 Directors are always in a race with the clock to get shots completed, this is an example of that. Wright ran out of time, so he had to shoot the scene in two shots. So you get the shot of the two of them on the bed, then the second shot of Juno at the door, no time for close ups.

Costumes are about the way that they move and the way that they look, and this dress of hers has a kind of fluttery effect to it.

Chapter 5 Interference 0:31:10 Wright refers to this as his scene, with the reflecting diamond on the floor.

Swallows the birds, is also a running motif throughout the film, they symbolize the imagination, running wild. There are swallows on the front of her dress here, and there will be more later in the film. This house is located in Italy, and they rented it to make this film.

According to Wright sex on screen only works in tight close-ups, not in wide shots. In wide shots, sex looks grotesque and ridiculous. Think about all of the sex scenes you have seen in movies, most are shot in close-ups a hand here and there.

0:33:26 The dress is designed for the scene that is coming up, with the slit up the front. So as she lifts her leg, the dress kind of falls away. The green dress which Keira Knightley wore in the film has been named “the best of all time” by InStyle magazine, exceeding some classics as Audrey Hepburn’s little black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), ’s white dress in The Seven Year Itch (1955) or ’s red dress from Gone With The Wind (1939).

11 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

0:33:49 Wright told James to walk behind her as if he had a hard on. He stated that sometimes you have to dance around with the language with an actor, and at other times you have to be direct. Play the scene with a hard on.

The camera dances with the actors, also gives the cameraman editorial control of the scene. We get that classical moment and kiss – proper Hollywood kiss that doesn’t really work, slow moment to take in each other, and then it is shattered with their lust. And the kiss is for real.

Chapter 6 Act of Love 0:36:05 The scene was shot with a closed set, so it was just the actors and the director in the room, camera operator and the focus puller. Wright stated that they laughed, played some music, nothing too sexy, and while they are shooting this Wright is shouting out directions. Lift your leg up, move your bum over here, move your skirt. Kiera hands down his trousers and at one point Wright shouted rather loudly, “wank him off.” At that point they broke up laughing. That foot coming up off of the floor is a reference to a Chagall painting, and the lovers floating in the air, that she did. She is suspended off of the ground here, she is levitating.

Wright states that the important thing with actors when you do a sex scene is to keep it light and full of laughter, if you take it serious, it gets weird and complicated. Wright stated that he always tries to find personal attachments to a scene, and when he shot the discovery scene here, he stated that as a child he went to a friend’s house. The friend showed him his dad’s collection of pornography, and as a child he was shocked by what he saw, that is what he was thinking about when he shot this scene, something that helps him to emphasize with the characters.

Continuity error: In the love making scene in the library, Robbie pulls down the strap of Cecilia’s dress and she pulls her arm out. In the next shot it is clearly up and over her shoulder again.

Continuity error: During the library scene, Cecilia slips her shoe off while making love. When Briony interrupts, both of Cecilia's shoes are still on.

Continuity error: During the dinner party scene, Cecilia's fingernails go from being painted to unpainted, with no break in the action allowing her time to have removed the nail polish.

Chapter 7 No Harm Done 0:40:55 Another scene that was put together with little time to spare, according to the director. Mostly due to the time limitations with filming with a child at night, not the restrictions of the filming schedule it’s self.

Ducks were a bit uncooperative in this scene; there was a guy behind that boat in a wet suit trying to throw ducks in the air. They kept flying into the camera and actors faces.

When Briony drops her flashlight and runs to Lola's side in the woods there is a second flashlight shining on the two, even though no one else is there.

12 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

0:42:14 Benedict kept his pants on for that scene and the ass crack that is visible was painted on the image. The discussion between the two girls was shot at four o’clock in the morning.

Chapter 8 False Witness 0:44:09 This scene mirrors the scene at the end of the film, where you see Vanessa Redgrave, playing the older Briony against a black setting.

There are some nice formal tableaus in this film; Wright stated that they just kind of happened.

0:44:43 There is a little bit of the glamour of smoking in the 1930’s presented here. None of these actors smoke in real life.

0:46:08 Wright is using a little elliptical (indirect, cryptic or abstruse) structure here in his storytelling, as if you looked too close it would kind of fall away, so he is hoping with this structure he can get away with the storytelling. There are too many questions around this section, so they are trying to move through it rather quickly. If you read the book at this part you get the same feeling, too many things left unsaid, unspoken alibis that would make sense to reveal. You don’t want to give the audience time to ask those questions.

0:48:30 As Robbie is hauled off by the police and his mother frantically yells “liar” while running up the road, Briony peers from a staircase landing through a window decorated with figures in stained glass. The figure in the window Briony stares through is labeled Matilda. This is an allusion to a famous children's poem by Hilaire Belloc entitled “Matilda”, whose first line runs, “Matilda told such dreadful lies, it made one gasp and stretch one’s eyes”. By the end of the poem, Matilda has burned to death, having called wolf one time too many. Tell little Willy story.

Chapter 9 Serving Time Playing with the sound effects, hear how they mix. Again going from an extreme close-up to a wide shot, from Briony’s face to the soldiers.

Time frame is four years later in France. That harmonica theme is going to build to a whole orchestra section.

Mason is played by British actor Danny Maes, the book calls for a large man, he is another great actor.

0:51:26 Toff means posh.

0:52:08 Six Months Earlier, there’s life bursting in when those doors open. This scene is all about what is not said.

Is this period they shorten the vowels, so everything is carried in the vowels, the emotions.

13 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

0:53:25 There is a swallow (motif) behind him there, and in fact this tea shop is called the Swallows Tea Shop. There is swallows engraved into the doors, and also on the menu table tent in front of them, also in the fabric of the table clothes. What is the meaning of a swallow bird? The symbolism for a swallow is; it is that these birds were often the first to land on a ship that had been out to sea for long periods of time. So the bird came to symbolize being close to/finding your way home. Robbie and Cecilia are finding their way home, to each other.

Continuity error: When Cecilia and Robbie are in the restaurant drinking tea, Robbie has a full cup. Then the camera moves. When the camera goes back to him and he starts to drink the tea, there is no tea in the cup at all.

Notice the breath to take us into the next scene.

0:55:33 The animals that you see, the owl, the frog, and then the gecko later, is to suggest a wider context, that the natural world does not care what these characters are going through, also a reference to Charles Laughton’s great film, The Night of the Hunter. This film does get a lot of reference in other cinematic works, wonderful film.

Plot summary for The Night of the Hunter: Harry Powell () marries and murders widows for their money, believing he is helping God do away with women who arouse men's carnal instincts. Arrested for auto theft, he shares a cell with condemned killer Ben Harper (Peter Graves) and tries to get him to reveal the whereabouts of the $10,000 he stole. Only Ben's nine-year-old son, John and four-year-old daughter, Pearl knows the money is in Pearl's doll and they have sworn to their father to keep this secret. After Ben is executed, Preacher goes to Cresap's Landing to court Ben's widow, Willa (Shelley Winters). He overwhelms her with his Scripture quoting, sermons and hymns, and she agrees to marry him. On their wedding night he tells her they will never have sex because it is sinful. When the depressed, confused, guilty woman catches him trying to force Pearl to reveal the whereabouts of the money, she is resigned to her fate but the children manage to escape downriver, with Preacher following close behind.

0:55:55 This scene was shot just outside of old Scotland Yard, there was a lot of CCTV cameras that they removed digitally in the post-production phase, but it was a great location, just outside of London. The director is from London, so he thought it was a pleasure to shoot there, and the first time that he has made a movie in his home town. He normally travels to different locations to film.

Filming error: In the scene in London streets, when Robbie and Cecilia are walking, the lens of the steady cam can be seen clearly reflected in the window of a parked car.

0:56:30 It has always been a dream of director Joe Wright to film a shot of a girl on the back of Bus 19, one he used to take into the city of bright lights of Oxford Circus. The bus states that it goes to Balham, but the number 19 does not go there.

Chapter 10 Save Me

14 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

0:57:05 This was shot at dawn, they arrived at four a.m., set up the cameras, and then waited for dawn to arrive. Wright states that he likes the different atmosphere that dawn delivers. This is also the first time that we show the audience his wound. In the book, you know he is wounded from the attic of the barn scene. This is a different placement for the wound from the literature, also.

Factual error: The BEF was a professional army and was not staffed with conscripted prisoners.

This section of the soldiers walk is lost from the novel, but that section of the novel visually would not be very pleasing for the audience to sit through, so it was lost in the edit. As a result, you don’t really get a sense of the long mundane walk that these soldiers had to endure to get to the beach.

Robbie is an archetype (classic, original) character. He is the kind of guy that men should aspire to be like. He is not a conflicted character, but rather straight forward.

0:59:30 This location was supposed to have the sun peering through the trees, when they arrived it was overcast. So the special effects team is circling the guys here with tubes of smoke, and the scene turns out better than it was originally planned. Great example of working with what you have.

1:00:26 This scene was established on the idea that these girls were killed and then someone laid them out to bury, and never got to bury them. It is an odd scene, and it probably does not work. Of all the atrocities that the Nazi’s committed, they could have pulled something a bit more realistic.

1:01:03 This scene with Robbie and Byrony at the river is Robbie’s memory of this scene. This is Robbie thinking that maybe this is the reason that Briony turns against him, jealousy. However, remember that it is Robbie trying to fit pieces together. Jealousy is really too simple of an answer for what she does. Briony was definitely jealous of not being in their relationship, but that is not the whole story.

1:03:07 Nettles has a nice cockney accent for this time period, you cannot find this accent in London any more. He is trying to rationalize the crazy world in which he is living, which is the same thing that Briony is trying to do, just with a different angle.

These shots of Celia were shot later, as they thought they didn’t have enough shots of her in the Dunkirk section.

Chapter 11 By the Sea 1:04:13 This is a steel works factory that is still working; they did some work with it digitally to destroy it. Great long extended crane shot here.

15 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

01:04:43 That sand bank that he is running up is on the back of a pick-up truck. Factual error: On arriving on the beach at Dunkirk, Robbie is told of the sinking of the Lancastria and the loss of 3,000 men. This event actually occurred 17 days later on June 17 1940.

01:05:13 This steadicam shot took one day to film. There are 1,000 extras in this shot, and they only had a day to work with them. They arrived at 6 a.m., rehearsed all day, and then started shooting at 6 p.m., they got four takes; you are looking at the third take. The fourth take, the steadicam operators legs collapsed and he could not do any more.

01:05:48 The camera here is on a golf cart or buggy if you are in London, which you can see the tire marks in the sand at 1:05:51 as he crosses the path of the cart. The smoke in the background is CGI. The horses here are circus horse, and they are getting pulled over by the trainer here, there is no gun and no sound.

Shooting the five ½ minute tracking shot Dunkirk beach scene was arguably the toughest portion of shooting. The shooting schedule dictated that the scene must be completed in two days. However the location scouts report indicated the lighting quality at the beach was not good enough until the afternoon of the second day. This forced director Joe Wright to change his shooting strategy into shooting with one camera. The scene was rehearsed on the first day and on the morning of the second day. The scene required five takes and the third take was used in the film. On shooting, Steadicam operator Peter Robertson shot the scene by riding on a small tracking vehicle, walking off to a bandstand after rounding a boat, moved to a ramp, stepped onto a rickshaw, finally dismounting and moving past the pier into a bar. One of the reasons for the limited time was that if the tide came in it would wash away the set.

1:06:21 Joe Wrights mothers name appears on the back of the boat, his homage to his mother, Lyndie London. Joe Wright, the director, is also seen in the Dunkirk scenes as a cameo appearance.

1:06:29 There is a pipe that comes up through this fire that blows the papers in the air. There is a lot of assistant directors here dressed as soldiers, that are shouting and giving orders, telling the extras what to do.

1:07:05 Now the shot has turned into a POV shot here.

1:08:10 Great 360 shot as they rotate around the built band stand, with the soldiers singing a hymn. In the left you can see a hotel that was dressed to look like it fit into this era.

You might have noticed that hanging from that ferries wheel is a stunt man. As this shot is progressing the director is running around cueing all of the action. This is one of those moments that as a viewer you buy into the whole scene taking place, you forget that it is a movie, and the actors are only cooperating as the camera swings their direction. There are 1,000 extras here on the beach and they had only about five minutes with each group of soldiers to explain what they should be doing, a costume house in Poland made all of the costumes for this shot, since there were not enough of these costumes in established European costume houses. All of these soldiers are local guys, and there is a crew of 300 working with them.

16 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

Local government in Redcar gave permission for a bandstand to be erected and for a shipwreck to be placed on the beach for authenticity. A number of houses along the beach front were painted to suit the era. The cinema, which looked the part already, merely had an advertisement painted on the side of the building to complete the set dressing. Everything was undone after filming was complete and Redcar seafront now looks like a normal seaside town again. The locals of Redcar, who served as extras in the Dunkirk scene, were paid 50 pounds. The set of Dunkirk, built at Redcar, was the most expensive set, costing an estimated 1 million pounds.

1:09:04 For this shot the camera is on a sort of rickshaw and is being pulled back.

1:09:54 The idea of this shot is the wastage of war, everything is being wasted, the landscape, the materials, the horses, the soldiers, everything.

Chapter 12 Put Things Right 1:10:12 The guy playing the banjo here showed up on this day of filming and informed them that he played the banjo. He really makes this scene and sets the mood of this bar. Another totally unplanned moment, but the filmmakers were able to capitalize on that moment. Wright states that this all goes back to being open to what the story gives you, on any given day of filming. Wright states if someone has a great idea, then you want to use it.

1:11:12 This cinema is on the beach, and again a non-scripted idea which makes its way into the final cut of the film. The movie on screen here is Le Quai des brumes, The Port of Shadows (1938), directed by Marcel Carné. Plot summary for The Port of Shadows: Life's a rotten business, says Jean, a deserter who arrives at night in Le Havre, looking to leave the country. He lucks into civilian clothes, a little bit of money, a passport, and a dog, and he also meets Nelly, a 17-year-old who's grown up too fast. She's the object of lust of men: including a boyfriend Maurice, her putative protector Zabel, and Lucien, a local hood. Jean falls for her, faces down Lucien, and gives her courage to stand on her own feet. A ship is leaving for Venezuela; can at least one of them be on it, or is that just a dream?

1:11:53 This is the old fish market at Grimsby, a totally different location, and the building on the right was an ice factory.

1:13:01 Use of a Helen’s Lens here, it defocuses all areas except for the area that you want to be in focus. It gives her a kind of angelic look. There is an obvious iconic imagery here, the washing of Christ’s feet, but it is unclear as to what it is supposed to represent here, other than religious symbolism.

1:14:48 The symbolism here is that he is walking into his own tomb. If you have read the book you understand this moment and are not surprised, if you have not read the book, I have almost

17 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

ruined the end of the story for you. Notice that everything is getting smaller and smaller as death arrives, we began with the big beach shot, and then down to this shot. Death is small; it is an exhale of breath, or a match going out.

1:16:30 This scene is about friendship and how the most unexpected people can become friends.

1:17:03 This is literally lit by a match; it is the only light that is being used here, which is also why you get this wonderful slow fade.

The small English town of Redcar stood in for the French city of Dunkirk. The last day of Dunkirk evacuation was the 4th of June 1940, not the 1st. The Navy officer tells Robbie that there were 3,000 men waiting on the beach, but on the 1st of June, there were about 118,000 soldiers still waiting, 40,000 were left behind to face the Germans and certain death. The operation, code-named Dynamo, continued until June 4. At its beginning, the British thought they would be lucky to rescue 50,000. In the end, approximately 340,000 British, French and Belgians were snatched from the shore. 40,000 were left behind and killed or captured.

The Evacuation of Dunkirk, 1940 It was a fateful decision that would ultimately transform a military defeat into a moral victory. As German forces continued their advance into France, General Viscount Gort, Commander of the British Expeditionary Force in France, could see that the German invaders were getting the upper hand. The French Army was in disarray while his own forces were fighting desperately. The French called upon Gort to move his troops south to join them in a defensive stand. The British commander realized the action was futile and could lead to the annihilation of his command. If any of his forces were to be saved for the future defense of Britain, they would have to evacuate France immediately. On the evening of May 23, 1940, Gort ordered his commanders to retreat to the near-by port of Dunkirk - an action that would save the British Army to fight another day. At the time, however, the success of the mission seemed highly unlikely. The British Army, joined by some French and Belgian forces would have to fight their way to the small port of Dunkirk, defend the town from German attack and hope that they could hold on long enough for ships from England to come to pull them off the beach. Another fateful decision, this time on the part of the Germans, now helped their rescue. On May 24, Hitler, for reasons that are still unclear, ordered his tanks to halt Escape from France their pursuit of the retreating Allied forces. In England the call went out for ships - any ships - to help with the rescue. On May 26 an unbelievable armada set sail. Motorboats, sloops, fishing boats, yachts, ferries, barges and every other variety of boat imaginable poured out of the Thames River and the ports that lined the English Channel to make their way across the Channel to rescue the beleaguered troops.

18 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

Guided by the smoke and flame filling the sky above Dunkirk, the ragtag rescue fleet made its way through continuous German attack and treacherous waters to the stranded troops. The rescuers found the beaches clogged with men. Some clamored along piers to reach the rescue ships, others wadded out from shore to waters nearly over their heads for rescue. All the time the beach was under attack from German artillery, bombers and fighter planes. The operation, code-named Dynamo, continued until June 4. At its beginning, the British thought they would be lucky to rescue 50,000. In the end, approximately 340,000 British, French and Belgians were snatched from the shore. 40,000 were left behind and killed or captured. Retrieved from: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/dunkirk.htm

Chapter 13 Remembering 1:17:32 A backwards sequence to get the reflection of his memories that field of poppies was found by Joe Wright’s mother as she was driving up to visit.

1:18:16 Again more backward footage, coming back to the source which is the meaning of his life, his love for Cecilia.

1:18:48 They go back to this sequence so that the audience is not sure if he lived on, but this scene gives the audience the hope that they so desire to have for the character.

Chapter 14 Not Ready 1:20:32 There is a clever cut here, as the camera pans back to the corner, the cut takes place. So the same group of women is used for these two shots, going away and coming back. We are also moving away from the hand-held camera shots of the Dunkirk scenes to the normal composition of standard shots. This is all a formal classical style of shooting.

The filming here is more linear, and the lighting follows suit. “The transition is the melee and chaos of Dunkirk and the whole retreat, and then you enter this hard, sharp, linear graphic kind of feel” states Seamus McGarvey. “And then when the war comes to London, we adopt a more handheld frenetic kind of jagged approach to the cinematography. And that applies to the light as well which becomes harder and more brittle and abrupt. These are things that should be subtle. They shouldn’t draw attention to themselves, these photographic devices, but I think if they’re well conceived and are appropriate, they really enhance the story” states the director of photography.

1:20:57 These girls are all 18 years old, and in real life during World War II, these nurses were all 18 years old. The girls were not allowed to assist in any medical procedures; they were checking charts, basic duties, and lots of cleaning.

1:21:14 Because of that hair and because of that mole, you now are introduced to the 18 year old Briony Tallis. We get to see her at three different ages, played by three different actresses. The real nurses were 18-19 years old nursing these soldiers. She states there is no Briony, and this

19 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

film is a little bit about identity, as you are introduced to three different actresses playing this role. The rhetorical question is how I can know who I am. These two characters each have their own fate, for Robbie it is the hell of war, for Briony it is the hell of nurse’s duty and cleaning bedpans.

1:22:38 Fiona here played by Michele Duncan, known to be an incredibly intellectual actress. This is an important scene, as it reminds the audience that Briony is a writer that this is about storytelling. This scene does not appear in the novel, but the attempt here is to fill some gaps that exist in the film, so that it includes information from the novel.

Filming mistake: In the movie, a recording of Jussi Bjorling and Victoria de Los Angeles is heard in the movie. We see a record being put on a phonograph. The recording is from what some consider the greatest operatic recording ever but it was actually recorded in 1956. Twenty years later from the time in the movie.

1:23:56 Two Figures by a Fountain, is a clear reference to what we have already witnessed in the first part of this story.

Chapter 15 Can’t Escape 1:25:34 The letter writing is reminding the audience that we have gone back in time here. This is the letter that we heard Cecilia mention that she received.

1:25:50 The strategic withdrawal mentioned here, is the retreat at Dunkirk which you have already seen.

Factual error: The brass bugle the nurse is polishing was introduced in the .

1:26:05 The attempt to scrub away her sins, fairly obvious reference to , bit of a school boy reference. You could also relate this to self-mutilation on a very basic scale.

1:27:31 This whole thing is a set, of St. Thomas’s Hospital; it was built at Studios.

Filming locations for Atonement (2007) Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK (interiors) Black Park, Iver Heath, , England, UK Bloomsbury, London, England, UK Coates, Cambridgeshire, England, UK Dover, , England, UK Grimsby Docks, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England, UK (Dunkirk - street scenes) Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England, UK London, England, UK Nene Washes Nature Reserve, , Cambridgeshire, England, UK (for late 1930s rural France) Northumberland, England, UK Ouse Washes Nature Reserve, Cambridgeshire, England, UK (for late 1930s rural France)

20 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

Redcar, Redcar and Cleveland, England, UK (invasion of Dunkirk) Seven Sisters, East Sussex, England, UK , Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK (studio) St. John's, Smith Square, Westminster, London, England, UK (Lola's wedding) Stokesay Court, Onibury, Shropshire, England, UK (Tallis home) University College London, Bloomsbury, London, England, UK (exteriors) Westminster, London, England, UK

1:28:13 When you really consider this, what these young women did is simply amazing, with little to no training, they simply volunteered to fulfill a need. Not something you would necessarily see today. You do question, how were they able to cope with the horrors that they witnessed. The music really makes that war montage come to life.

Chapter 16 Wounded 1:29:21 Notice how the color of red is introduced to St. Thomas’s hospital as the arrivals from Dunkirk arrive.

1:30:41 On the surface this scene does not fit the story, it takes us away from the story of Robbie and Cecilia, but poetically and emotionally, with our understanding of Briony, it is really important. It is the moment when Briony understands that storytelling can heal, as she lies to this soldier. This is the understanding that storytelling is not just destructive, but it is also something that can heal.

Joe Wright states that he likes intimate scenes between two people; it is his favorite type of scene to film.

1:33:55 The Debussy that the soldier talks about his sister playing is now played here.

Chapter 17 With my own Eyes 1:32:51 Great faces on these soldiers as they are returning home. This is a portrait of propaganda, Briony has just learned firsthand what the war is really about, and then we see this government made propaganda about supporting the troupes.

1:35:17 Lola Quincey, played by Juno Temple and Paul Marshall, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, have been digitally added to this propaganda film.

1:36:00 Again we are back to elliptical filming here with the wedding sequence is film quite elliptical (indirect, abstruse), as otherwise there are too many questions to ask.

1:37:53 That pig is the same pig that was used in Pride and Prejudice (2005) its name is Paul, named after one of the producers of Pride and Prejudice (2005).

Romola Garai, playing Briony at 18, shot her scenes in 4 days.

21 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

Biography for Romola Garai Date of Birth 6 August 1982, Hong Kong, British Crown Colony, Birth Name Romola Sadie Garai, Nickname Romster, Height 5' 9" Mini Biography Born in Hong Kong to father Adrian (banker) and mother Janet (journalist) on July 1, 1982, Romola Garai's unusual name is credited as the female version of Romulus, an Italian name for boys. She grew up in Singapore and Hong Kong until she was eight when her family returned to lay roots in Wiltshire. At sixteen, she left her parents and youngest sister, Roxy, to live in London with her older sister, Rosie, and attend school at City of London's School for Girls, where her major studies were based on theatre. She got her beginnings as a professional actress when she was spotted in a school production by a casting director looking for girls to play Judi Dench in the ITV drama The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) (TV). After that role, she went on with her studies, eventually enrolling in University of London where she majored in English, planning to become a journalist like her mother once was. But after offers for other roles began to come in, she deferred her degree and eventually quit altogether to focus more on her acting career. Romola went on to film Daniel Deronda (2002) (TV), I Capture the Castle (2003), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004) and Vanity Fair (2004) with Reese Witherspoon. Not to mention her role in the West End adaptation of George Eliot's novel, Calico as Lucia Joyce for which she was nominated Outstanding Newcomer by the Theatre Awards. Trivia • She is currently at university reading English. She used to sing in a jazz band. A casting agent scouting at her school for young girls, chose her for her first acting role in The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) (TV). [2000] • Can play the violin. • Was brought up in Hong Kong and Singapore until she was 10. • She has three siblings: one brother named Ralph and two sisters named Rosie and Roxy. • She is of Hungarian descent and her great grandfather is Bert Garai, founder of Keystone Press Agency in London in 1924. • Her two oldest siblings Ralph and Rosie were adopted as babies before she and her sister were born. • She had no professional dancing experience before arriving on the set of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004). • Born on the same day as Adrianne Curry. • Director François Ozon affectionately calls Romola "his muse". • Enjoys cooking and traveling in her spare time. • Has visited Hong Kong, Singapore, Malta, Venice, Australia, Italy, and Indonesia. • Real hair color is blonde but she occasionally dyes it in real life and for movie roles. • Is a huge fan of , in fact her favorite TV character of all time is Lisa Simpson. • Was François Ozon's first and only choice for the role of Angel Deverell in The Real Life of Angel Deverell. • While filming Dirty Dancing two : Havana Nights became good friends with Diego Luna. They remain close and have a very strong bond. • Favorite movies are The Wizard of Oz, Fargo and Orlando. • Was Joe Wright's first choice for the role of Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice before Keira Knightley auditioned. But Joe being a huge admirer of Romola's talent then offered her the role of Briony in Atonement as he really wanted to work with her. • Her proudest work as an actress is Angel. • Cites , , , The Coen brothers, David Lynch, Todd Haynes as her favorite directors and would love to work with them in the future. • Very good friends with and Charlie Hunnam whom she met while filming Nicholas Nickelby. • Lives in London. • Her last name, "Garai", is Hungarian and is pronounced like "Garry". • Romola has said her ideal role would be to play the eighteenth century feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797). • Frequently appears dancing in scenes from her films, including Angel (2007/I), Daniel Deronda (2002) (TV), (TV)Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004), I Capture the Castle (2003), Inside I'm Dancing (2004) and Vanity Fair (2004). • Favorite horror movie is The Blair Witch Project. • Loves watching documentaries, her favorites include Bowling for Columbine, Road to Guantanamo Bay and Iraq in Fragments. • Plans and hopes to write screenplays and direct movies someday. • Favorite actresses are and . • Received a standing ovation at the Berlin Film Festival for her performance in Angel. • Was officially in the BAFTA long list (Equivalently, the semi-finals) for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, for her role in Atonement (2007), which consisted of 15 finalists for each category (except Animated Film). However, she was eliminated in the next round, during which the five official nominees were selected. [2008]. • Attended the National Youth Theatre. • Finishing her degree in English Literature from Queen Mary, University of London (2008). • Was considered for the female lead in Good (2008), but wasn't able to do it due to schedule conflicts. Where Are They Now • (February 2004) from 19th Feb, appearing in the new play 'Calico' in London's West End. • (July 2007) Touring with the Royal Shakespeare Company to Singapore, Australia and doing King Lear (as Cordelia) and (as Nina). With Sir Ian McKellen, , . • (January 2008) Plays her final performances as Cordelia and Nina in the RSC productions of "King Lear" and "The Seagull", at the New London Theatre on the 12th of January. Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0304801/bio

Chapter 18 Telling the Truth

22 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

1:38:40 This is a set back at Shepperton Studios, two days to film the scene. Joe Wright stated that he thought it was a real privilege to sit next to the cameras video-tap and watch these actors act, “really an experience.”

1:39:36 Wright thought that Briony was too tall in this shot. She is wearing her nurse’s shoes and Kiera is barefoot, but it appears that Briony towers over her sister.

Briony is a bit of a freak. She is confused by everything, especially anything sexual. She doesn’t understand the reality of life. As Briony examines their wedding bed from a far, she imagines the sex, the smells; she is one who has never known love.

In order for Kiera not to be blocked, they gave her the motivation to stop Robbie from attacking; as a result she has the ability to move forward.

1:42:38 Again notice Briony’s weird fascination with sexuality.

1:44:05 Danny Hardman is our red herring; he was the one that everyone was supposed to think was guilty, only now she reveals to them the truth.

1:44:33 Back to the wide shot, so much of this scene is accomplished in close-ups.

1:45:41 This shot of Briony in the underground, is a set, behind her is a roller.

Chapter 19 Final Act 1:46:04 This new chapter begins with the voice of God. Here we get a brutal cut to the modern world. In the book what happens here is that it suddenly switches to first person. Wright as the filmmaker wanted something that was equally as startling as shifting to first person, and thought the interview situation would be the best technique.

Vanessa Redgrave, an acclaimed actress to play this part. The interviewer is Anthony Minghella, the director of Cold Mountain.

How many novels has Briony published, 21st novel. Her reason for telling this story is that she doesn’t have very long to live, so she has nothing to fear by death. It also reveals why Briony is finally able to tell the truth, she is now more vulnerable than ever before in her life.

The genre of this story is romantic tragedy.

Biography for Vanessa Redgrave Date of Birth 30 January 1937, London, England, UK , Height 5' 11" (1.80 m) Mini Biography Born into a distinguished acting family, Vanessa Redgrave knew a lot about acting technique when she started making films in the 1960s. Three decades later she has shown that an actress can improve with age. In his review of A Month by the Lake (1995),

23 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

sees Redgrave "at the absolute peak of physical and mental perfection". No one had any idea of what kind of a woman was in the photographs in the park in Blowup (1966). Her rich auburn hair was long, her physique lean, her countenance inscrutable. Three decades later a Redgrave who takes the pictures has hair that is short, the auburn shade muted. The physique is still lean and it is strong from the work it has taken to keep it that way. And the countenance is a lot easier to read. Add expertise with body language and a superb sense of timing and here is a comedienne who should still be carrying films when she is in her 90s. Spouse Franco Nero (31 December 2006 - present) 1 child Tony Richardson (29 April 1962 - 1967) (divorced) 2 children Trade Mark • Often chooses roles that are difficult or controversial, not roles that will bring her more money or a higher status.

Trivia • Claims to be on hit-list of neo-Nazi group Combat 18. [February 1997] • Daughter of & , sister of & , mother of & . • Aunt of . • She was awarded the C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1967 for her services to drama. • Granddaughter of . • Mother-in-law of actor . • Was in a long relationship with former actor Timothy Dalton [1980-1994] • Both she and Sister Lynn Redgrave were nominated for the 1967 Best Actress Academy Award. Vanessa was nominated for Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966) and Lynn for Georgy Girl (1966). They both lost to , who won for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). • Won Broadway's 2003 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for a revival of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night." • Measurements: 34-26-35 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine) • Son, Carlo Gabriel Nero, with Franco Nero. The two met while working together in Camelot (1967). • She allegedly refused the British honour of Dame of the order of the British Empire in 1999. • She was awarded the Theatre Award in 1985 (1984 season) for Best Actress in a Revival for . • She was nominated for a 1997 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play of 1996 for her performance in John Gabriel Borkman. • She was awarded the 1985 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor in The Seagull. • She was awarded the 1991 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in When She Danced. • She was awarded the 1985 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for her performance in The Seagull. • She was awarded the 1988 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in A Touch of the Poet. • In 1962, she became one of the first celebrities to visit communist Cuba. • A longtime member of Britain's Workers Revolutionary Party • Appeared on "BBC News 24" Breakfast and stated that the massacre of Russian school children by Chechen guerrillas was not an act of terrorism. (4 September 2004). • In 2003, she became the sixteenth performer to win the Triple Crown of acting. Oscar: Best Supporting Actress, Julia (1977), Tony: Best Actress-Play, "Long Day's Journey into Night" (2003), and Emmys: Best Actress-Limited Series/Special, Playing for Time (1980) (TV) & Best Supporting Actress-Miniseries/Movie, If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000) (TV). • Was set to star in Dario Argento's Opera (1987), but dropped out shortly before production was scheduled to commence. • By virtue of her Academy Award for Julia (1977), she is the only person in the history to win a Best Supporting Actress Award for playing the title role in a movie. • First performer to win two individual Acting Awards at the Cannes Festival. ( won twice at the festival before, but he had to share both of his awards with his co-stars) • On a June 2005 appearance on "Larry King Live" (1985), she expressed her fondness for the movie Meet the Fockers (2004) and said that the film should have won an Academy Award. • Trained for the stage at the central school for Speech and Drama in London, and in 1959 became a member of the acclaimed Stratford- Upon-Avon Theatre Company. • Received The award nomination for her work in Hecuba. This play was a major success. It was so well received that the BAM theater in New York scheduled it for two weeks and it went on to being performed in Delphi. • Plays mother to real-life daughter Joely Richardson in a few episodes of "Nip/Tuck" (2003). • Spoke at the Scottish Parliment in the summer of 2005. • Voted by People magazine (May 8th 2006) as one of the 100 most beautiful people. • Voted by Entertainment Weekly as one of the 25 greatest Actresses • Is mentioned, along with Joe Piscopo and , in the song "Jammin' Me" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. • When director and producers of "The Year of Magical Thinking" were thinking of an actress to cast in their one-woman show, they could only think of one name, and that was Redgrave. They said that only she could tackle the range of emotion created by the character. • After filming Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), The Devils (1971) and The Trojan Women (1971), she suffered a miscarriage in 1971. It was a boy and would have been her and Franco Nero's second child. • After filming The Trojan Women (1971), favored Vanessa Redgrave over all actresses and later remarked that she was, "A thrill to look at and to listen to.".

24 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

• Her three children are actresses Natasha Richardson and Joely Richardson from her marriage to Tony Richardson and Carlo Gabriel Nero with Italian actor Franco Nero. • Received rave reviews for originating the role of Jean Brodie in, 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" winning the London Evening Standard award for her work. • Along with Kate Winslet (for Iris (2000) and Mare Winningham (for Georgia (1995)), she is the only performer to be nominated for an Supporting Oscar (for Julia (1977)) for playing the title role in a movie. As of 2007, Redgrave is the only one to win. • She was the first of the only four actresses to win the Best Actress award twice at . She won for Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966) in 1966 and Isadora (1968) in 1968. The others are: for Violette Nozière (1978) in 1978 and Pianiste, La (2001) in 2001; for Cal (1984) in 1984 and The Madness of King George (1994) in 1995; for Shy People (1987) in 1987 and A World Apart (1988) in 1988. • Won the Drama Desk award in 2007 for Best Actor in a Solo performance for "The Year of Magical Thinking". She also received her second Tony award nomination for Best Actress for the same play. • Former mother-in-law of co-producer . • She was made a Fellow of the in recognition of her outstanding contribution to film culture. • Both she and her daughter Joely Richardson have played an historical queen who was executed by beheading. Redgrave played the title character in Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) while her daughter played Marie Antoinette in The Affair of the Necklace (2001). • Named as co-respondent in her 1967 divorce from Tony Richardson on grounds of adultery.

Where Are They Now • (May 2003) Appearing on Broadway in "Long Day's Journey Into Night". • (November 2004) Just started own political party in the UK to be focused on human rights violations. It is called Peace and Progress Party, it will field candidates in the next British general election. • (June 2006) Fighting to stop an open air gold mine in Romania. She has been met with protest, but ignores it all. Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000603/

1:47:49 this is the same shot of Briony in the library, here she is looking left to right, and it is the opposite position for the library scene, right to left. It is as if she is looking at her former self.

Here we strip everything away, what it comes down to be that face, the face of an old woman.

This is a film about happy endings, and she is discussing here the qualities of the happy ending. Happy endings are done on purpose; they give us something to aspire to. Has this film got a happy ending, well that is up to the audience?

They both leave the world underground. The book talks about Cecilia dying in the Balham tube station bombing, but in their research they discovered that it was the bombing that broke the water mains and flooded the tube stations.

1:51:23 The water rushing down the tube is a model shot. The model tunnel is about four foot high. The date of the Balham tube station bombing and flood is incorrectly stated by elderly Briony as being “the 15th of October, 1940.” The date of the actual event was October 14th, 1940.

Robbie Turner is said to have died of septicemia. However, in the scene in which we last see the body of Robbie Turner, he shows none of the signs of a victim of septicemia. People that fall ill and die from the disease have red spots all over their skin, due to blood clotting problems. He would have also had large red spots forming under his skin, not just small dots, as there would be bleeding that can be seen growing under the top layer of skin. Some septicemia patients also show swollen glands on the body, such as the eyes and areas on the face, which should have been clearly

25 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.

Literature to Film, lecture on Atonement (2007) Compiled by Jay Seller

seen when Robbie Turner was covered with a blanket.

1:51:52 So here is the face of God, the God of this story. On the big screen this face talking directly to us. Her testament to happy endings and happy endings can be a sign of strength.

1:53:03 These final shots are East Borne, where The Trails of Arbela, the book that Briony was writing as a child takes place, so we have come full circle. The return to the childhood thoughts and that is heaven.

Author, Ian McEwan stated that this is a particularly difficult story to transfer to film. In the book the story is told inside the consciousness of several of the characters. The novel is 130,000 words and it has to be whittled down to 110 page screenplay, which works out to 25,000 words, not necessarily dialogue.

Biography for Ian McEwan, author of Atonement Date of Birth 21 May 1948, Aldershot, Hampshire, England, UK , Birth Name Ian Russell McEwan Spouse Annalena McAfee (1997 - present) Penny Allen (1982 - 1995) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia • He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of British Empire) in the 2000 Queen's Millennium Honors List for his services to Literature. • Studied creative writing at the University of East Anglia with instructors Malcolm Bradbury and 'Angus Wilson', earning an M.A. in 1971. • Son of soldier David McEwan, he spent much of his childhood abroad, stationed in such as outposts as Singapore and Libya. • His first collection of stories, 'First Love Last Rites' (1975), won the Somerset Maugham Award. • Recently discovered he had a long-lost older brother, Dave Sharp. • Ranked #19 in the 2008 Telegraph's list "the 100 most powerful people in British culture". Where Are They Now • (February 2008) The Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival • (June 2008) London, England Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0568605/bio

Special Features on the DVD Bringing the past to life: The Making of Atonement (Nothing new from the lecture above, but the behind the scenes filming shots are incredible to view. 27 Minutes)

From Novel to Screen: Adapting a Classic (Nothing new from the lecture above. 5 Minutes)

26 Primary source director’s commentary by Joe Wright. Compiled and copyright @ 2008 by Jay Seller.