Atonement Page #4

ROBBIE:
Where are the ships?

A few made it in yesterday,

Luftwaffe blew 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 f***ing disaster.

No, look, the thing is, you see,

I'm expected back, you see.

There's over 300,000 men on this beach,

Private. You'll have to wait your turn.

Just be grateful you're not wounded.

I've orders to leave the wounded behind.

No, no, no, leave it, guv! Never trust a sailor

on dry land. You're best off out of it.

That's not right.

Christ.

MAN:
Can you hear me, laddies?

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

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

Guv'nor.

I have to get something to drink.

You need one. You're grey.

He's gone all grey, can you see?

There. Come on.

MAN:
All I want's a cup of tea now.

MAN:
What the f*** you doing?

MAN:
I'm coming home!

Laddie, I'm coming home!

(MEN SINGING)

F*** 'em all! F*** 'em all!

The long and the short and the tall

F*** all the Sergeants and WO 1s

F*** 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

F*** 'em all!

Mike!

Mike!

Hold 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 loves me. She's waiting for me.

Oi!

Wait, wait, wait.

Hey, what have you done with your boots?

- Look, you're sure you're feeling all right?

- Never better.

Now I'm wondering whether the beach

really is the best place for dinner.

- I'm not sure, I don't recognise it.

- Dunno.

- This'll do, down here.

- No.

- No, no, it's further on.

- What is?

This place I know, an old cottage

with white clapboards

and blue-painted window frames.

Aw, yes.

That's right, that's where we're going.

- It's close to here.

- We're there. This is it.

Here we are, guv. Down here.

That's all right, guv. That's right.

Get your head down. Get your head down.

There you go.

Tuck yourself in. Keep yourself warm.

Chew on a bit of this. But quiet like,

or they'll all be wanting some.

Try and get some sleep.

ROBBIE:
Find you.

Love you.

Marry you.

And live without shame.

I love you. Come back. Come back to me.

- NETTLE:
Bit too much noise, guv'nor.

- What?

- What noise?

- You keep shouting.

- Some of the lads are getting a bit peeved.

- What?

- Christ. You look a bit rough.

- Thing is, I've decided to stay on for a bit.

I'm meeting someone,

and I'm always keeping her waiting.

Now, listen. Listen to me, guv'nor.

I went out for a Jimmy Riddle just now.

Guess what I saw!

They're getting themselves 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 sleep, and no more

of your bleeding shouting.

- All right?

- I won't say a word.

Wake me before 7:00, would you?

Thanks so much.

You won't hear another word

from me. Promise.

London

Three weeks earlier

Bed castors should be lined up

and pointing inwards.

I found three yesterday that weren't.

You know who you are.

Which of you were responsible

for putting away the blankets today?

- FIONA:
I was, Sister.

- I don't suppose you can tell us

- what you did wrong?

- No, Sister.

Labels are folded to the inside,

are they not?

- Yes, Sister.

- Do them again.

Nurse Tallis, I'll see you in my office.

The rest of you are excused.

- Is this job at all important to you, Tallis?

- Very important, Sister.

Yesterday, you were seconded

to men's surgical.

When your patient came round from his

anaesthetic, it seems the first thing he did

was to ask for Briony.

Who might Briony be?

- Well, me, Sister.

- There is no Briony.

You are Tallis. Nurse Tallis.

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...

Thanks. I never could make the scissors

work with my left hand.

Mummy always did it for me.

There, you're done.

Bother!

Night-night, Ponty.

Good night, Tallis.

Don't panic! It's only me.

Fiona, I almost jumped out of my skin.

So this is where you duck to after lights out.

I thought you might be in the middle

of some tempestuous romance.

Don't you freeze to death up here?

I love London.

Do you think all of this will be

bombed and just disappear?

No.

I don't know.

Do you write about Sister Drummond?

- Do you write about me?

- Sometimes.

- Can I look?

- 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 let anyone read it.

- It's not ready yet. It's unfinished.

- What's it about?

- It's complicated.

- Yes?

It's just...

It's about a young girl, a young and

foolish girl, who sees something from

her bedroom window which she doesn't

understand, but she thinks she does.

I probably won't ever finish it.

I look at you, Tallis,

and you're so mysterious.

I've never been mysterious.

- Do you know what I decided tonight?

- What?

I could never marry a man

who wasn't in the Royal Navy.

Here we are. Cecilia Tallis.

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 withdrawals.

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 fianc 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 love.

What, never? Not even a crush?

Oh, I had a crush once, when I was 10 or 11.

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.

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