Cinema Vitæ

In my mini-review of the film “Atonement” as listed on my Facebook page, I brazenly suggested that the film did not live up to its name. That is, that no real atonement was to be found in Atonement. This now seems wrong to me. The standard definition of “atonement” is “satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury”. In the film, the character Briony Tallis does make amends for her wrongs against both Robbie Turner and her sister Cecilia. Granted, we might have wished that her amends could have actually repaired the wrong done, but we recognize (perhaps grudgingly) that there are some instances when nothing can satisfy the injustice or repair the damage.

Still, if you saw the movie and are anything like me (and I don’t suggest you are), I couldn’t shake my dissatisfaction with the atonement offered to me. Is writing a better ending to a sad story the type of atonement I would hope for from Briony? Sure, she told all, but aren’t we longing for greater justice than a fictional story of two disconnected lovers who finally meet (and frolic on the beach, no less)? Does a tell-all novel (or Briony’s life-long guilt) truly bring justice for the lie told? Something deep inside of me, something unspoken and raw (and only semi-conscious) demands more . . . not only for Robbie and Cecilia, but for myself.

I guess this gets at the heart of a second definition of “atonement”, which is “the doctrine concerning the reconciliation of God and humankind as accomplished through the life, suffering, and death of Jesus Christ.” In the great injustice of Christ’s innocent death . . . all of the injustices done to Robbie and Cecilia and me and even Briony are swallowed up. I can’t say that I fully (or even partially) understand it, but something about the whole crucifixion mess makes me feel a little better. Certainly not that an innocent man was ruthlessly murdered, but that this man can relate to me when I’m ruthlessly lied about or cheated upon or stabbed in the back. I can release my grip on injustice and live–whether or not I get to frolic on life’s beach.