After witnessing something she doesn't understand, young Briony (Saoirse Ronan) makes some unfounded accusations; the fallout from those charges extends through WWII and beyond.
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When this film was released in 2007, my interest in seeing it was near zero. Its trailer reeked of "Oscar bait" and I had already sat through The English Patient once. The only thing that made me kinda maybe want to see it, was a co-worker's description of a long single-take shot on a beach. Well finally this past June I got over my snobbery and sat down to watch the film, and man was I blown away!
Seeing as the source material was published in 2001, I can most assuredly say that this story was not originally intended as an allegory for President George W. Bush sending young women and men to die for a lie; but when you acknowledge the fact that two wars were well underway at the time of the film's release, it's impossible to not at least see parallels. Even if you put contemporary politics aside, the film is still a devastating exploration of the huge tragic ripples that can be caused by tiny deeds. Oh and did I mention they use the C-word?! No matter how you slice it, definitely not your average grandma movie.
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