Atonement Page #5

But as soon as I told him I loved him,

the feeling sort of disappeared.

Something's happened.

NURSE:
Outside, quickly.

Robbie.

Excuse me.

Nurse Tallis, you speak a little French,

if I remember rightly.

Only school French, Sister.

There's a soldier in Bed 13. Go and sit

with him for a minute. Hold his hand.

Off you go.

Here you are at last

Sister sent me

for a little chat

I remember your sister

she was always so nice

what's she doing now?

She is a nurse as well

Did she finally marry that man

she was so in love with?

I've forgotten his name

Robbie?

She will soon I hope

Robbie

yes that's right

And you?

What is your name?

Luc.

Luc Cornet.

And you?

Tallis.

Tallis.

That's pretty

I remember you now

the English girl

You remember your first visit to Millau?

I was working by the ovens with my father.

I heard your accent

Can you do me a little favour Tallis?

These bandages are so tight,

can you loosen them a bit, please?

Of course

You remember my younger sister, Anne?

She still plays that little Debussy piece

do you remember?

She looks so serious when she plays

And our croissants,

what did you think of them?

The most delicious in Millau

Yes.

It's the quality of the butter

Yes

Is that why you came every day?

Because you know,

my mother is very fond of you

in her opinion,

we should get married in the summer

Oh yes?

Yes

I hope that's more comfortable

Do you love me?

Yes

Can you stay a while?

I'm frightened

- Tallis.

- Briony.

Je m'appelle Briony.

SISTER:
Stand up, Nurse Tallis.

Now go and wash the blood off your face.

NARRATOR:
The Navy has earned our

undying gratitude. The Army is undefeated.

Courage has brought them through

unconquered, their spirit unbowed.

This is the epic of Dunkirk.

A name that will live forever

in the annals of warfare.

In the course of a comprehensive tour,

Queen Elizabeth is seen here visiting

a chocolate factory in the north of England.

The confectionary magnate

and friend of the British Army,

Mr Paul Marshall, gave the Queen a tour

of the Army Amo factory

with his lovely,

soon-to-be-wed fiance, Miss Lola Quincey.

What a mouthwatering couple they are.

Keep the Amo coming.

Our boys have a sweet tooth.

Secondly, for a remedy against sin,

and to avoid fornication,

that such persons

as have not the gift of continence,

might marry and keep themselves

undefiled members of Christ's body.

Thirdly, it was ordained,

for the mutual society, help and comfort,

that the one ought to have the other.

I saw him.

Therefore, if any man can show

any just cause

why they may not be

lawfully joined together...

I know it was him.

...let him now speak

or forever hold his peace.

I saw him. I saw him with my own eyes.

WOMAN:
Let the nursey through.

They're going down to the country today.

Never been out of London before.

I hope they get a nice family.

They don't know what they're in for

with this lot.

Come on.

I'm looking for Miss Tallis. Cecilia Tallis.

Is she in?

Tallis! Door!

I tried writing. You wouldn't answer.

I have to talk to you.

- So you're a ward sister now?

- Yes.

Thanks.

I want to go in front of a judge

and change my evidence, Cee.

Don't call me that.

Please don't call me that.

I know what I did was terrible.

I don't expect you to forgive me.

Oh, don't worry, I won't.

You're an unreliable witness.

They'll never reopen the case.

Well, at least

I could tell everyone else what I did.

I can go home and explain

to Mummy and Daddy and Leon...

- So what's stopping you?

- Well, I wanted to see you first.

They don't want to hear any more about it.

That unpleasantness is all tidied away

in the past, thank you very much.

But...

I'll be late. Better get moving.

Excuse me.

He sleeps so deeply.

- What is she doing here?

- She wanted to speak to me.

Oh, yes, what about?

The terrible thing I did.

Robbie. Darling.

I'll be quite honest with you.

I'm torn between breaking your neck here

and taking you

and throwing you down the stairs.

Oh, God.

Do you have any idea what it's like in jail?

Of course, you don't.

Tell me, did it give you pleasure

to think of me inside?

- No.

- But you did nothing about it.

- No.

- Do you think I assaulted your cousin?

- No.

- Did you think it then?

Yes. But yes and no.

- And what's made you so certain now?

- Growing up.

- Growing up?

- I was 13.

How old do you have to be to know

the difference between right and wrong?

What are you, 18?

Do you have to be 18 before

you can bring yourself to own up to a lie?

There are soldiers of 18, old enough

to be left to die by the side of the road,

- did you know that?

- Yes.

Five years ago,

you didn't care about telling the truth.

You, all your family, you just assumed

that for all my education,

I was still little better than a servant.

Still not to be trusted!

Thanks to you, they were able to close ranks

and throw me to the f***ing wolves!

- Robbie! Look at me, look at me.

- Don't!

Come back. Come back.

Come back to me.

CECILIA:
Briony.

There isn't much time.

Robbie has to report for duty at 6:00,

and he's got a train to catch.

So sit down.

There are some things

you're going to do for us.

You'll go to your parents

as soon as you can,

and you'll tell them everything

they need to know

to be convinced

that the evidence you gave was false.

You'll meet with a solicitor,

make a statement,

have it signed, witnessed,

send copies to us. Is that clear?

Yes.

You'll write a detailed letter to me

explaining everything that happened

leading up to you saying

you saw me by the lake.

Try to include whatever you can remember

of what Danny Hardman was doing

that night.

- Hardman?

- Yes.

It wasn't Danny Hardman.

It was Leon's friend, Marshall.

I don't believe you.

He's married Lola.

I've just come from their wedding.

Lola won't be able to testify

against him now.

He's immune.

I'm very, very sorry for the terrible distress

that I have caused.

I am very, very sorry.

ROBBIE:
Just do as we've asked of you.

Write it all down, just the truth, no rhymes.

No embellishments, no adjectives.

And then leave us be.

I will, I promise.

BRIONY:
I'm sorry.

Could we stop for a moment?

MAN:
Of course. Is something the matter?

I just need a couple of minutes by myself.

... minutes by myself.

MAN:
Briony Tallis, your new novel,

your twenty-first, is called Atonement. It's...

Briony?

I'm sorry. Could we stop for a moment?

Briony Tallis, I'd like to talk now

about your new novel, Atonement,

which comes out in a few days

to coincide with your birthday.

- It's your twenty-first novel...

- It's my last novel.

Oh, really? Are you retiring?

I'm dying.

My doctor tells me

I have something called vascular dementia,

which is essentially

a continuous series of tiny strokes.

Your brain closes down, gradually

you lose words, you lose your memory,

which for a writer is pretty much the point.

So that's why I could finally write the book,

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