MovieChat Forums > Atonement (2008) Discussion > Dumbest 13 year old? Spoilers

Dumbest 13 year old? Spoilers

posted 11 years ago by mustsilm
6 replies | jump to latest

I dont understand why would a normal 13 year old do such thing in the first place? I thought at first the kid was 10 or smth, you know there is maybe even a story about it in the past a kid lie is blown out of proportions. So if she was younger it would be somewhat understandable, you know, simple foolish lie, she doesnt know the consequences. But she was 13. You would know a thing or two already about these things.

The only explanation is that she was jealous of Cecilia. But still. The man had to go jail for that.

Im not bashing the movie, it was a good movie, i was just furious of that girl, why would you do that, 13 for crying out loud, ruined 2 people life with that for what?

[–] agravaine 11 years ago

She didn't do it maliciously to ruin Cee and Robbie's lies... she honestly thought it was Robbie that attacked Lola, not Paul... if anything she was a victim of being too clever and over-connecting dots (the fountain, the letter, the library)

I am not condoning her, but while she lied about seeing him for certain she did it believing she was honest about who it was. Lola and Paul's silence allowed the lives to be ruined on purpose.

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[–] Lord_Gyaldhart 10 years ago

She didn't do it maliciously to ruin Cee and Robbie's lies... she honestly thought it was Robbie that attacked Lola, not Paul... if anything she was a victim of being too clever and over-connecting dots (the fountain, the letter, the library)

On the contrary, she DID it with malice, she was spiteful and jealous because she had a huge crush on Robbie as she confesses to her nurse friend when she tells her that her crush saved her from drowning.

She was jealous about her sister getting Robbie's attention, to the point in which she gave her the letter expecting that she would be upset with Robbie, but the exact opposite occurred.

It was revealed (at least in the movie) that she DID see that the person who was "raping" Lola was Paul, NOT Robbie.

She lied WITH malice because she wanted to punish both Robbie and her sister.

However, it is true that she wasn't 100% evil, she was an immature foolish teenage girl full or wrath and jealousy who didn't realize nor measured the consequences of what she was doing, and how she would ruin the lives of both Robbie and her sister.

Perhaps she thought that prison wasn't a big deal, and that he would be released someday and could go on with his life as if nothing happened, and obviously she never thought that they would make him go to a war where he ultimately would die. She never thought that her sister would hate her for the rest of her (admitedly short) life, and that her sister would also die due to the chain of events that she caused.

It is when she grows up that she realizes what she did, and feels a great remorse because of it which haunts her for the rest of her (long) life, and she feels that the only way to atone for what she did was to give her sister and Robbie a happy ending in the novel she had been writing for almost her entire life.

But it is a fact that she wasn't so innocent and that she lied with malice and with the purpose of causing Robbie and her sister some damage. She knows it too well, which is what magnifies even more her sense of guilt and gives sense to the title of the movie and the novel that she wrote at the end of the day.

The irony is that her bad actions ALSO ruined her entire life, and her punishment was to live with the remorse and regret until the day she dies.

A fitting punishment, I would say.

The GREATEST ally and BEST friend of christianity throughout history is Satan

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jlent 10 years ago

She did know a thing or two. That's what got Robbie into trouble.
What she didn't know were things three through 10.

[–] gottfrid 10 years ago

she was somewhat envious of robbies passion towards cee. its made obvious in the film she had made advancements towards him, but he considered her too young, plus he was already in love with the older sister.

she did a malicious thing and ive seen children doing similar stuff at that same age; but in the 40s the consequence wouldve been tougher than today's obviously. the other girl's consensual rape gave the police a stronger evidence to prosecute robbie, plus in that age and times that kind of accusation wouldve been enough if coming from an upper family to ruin a guys life. my thoughts are that the library thing alone plus the fountain thing alone wouldve led nowhere; but they had a girl who was raped and wanted to hide the identity of the rapist(she was in love with him), so it was briony's lie plus the rape that condemned robbie, not briony's alone, even though she had started the whole damn thing.

"It doesn't matter what Bram Stoker has told you... dead people don't come back from their graves"

[–] LukeLovesFilm28 9 years ago

It was Robbie's use of the "C" word. It was partly her twisted imagination. It was partly her loyalty to her cousin. It was partly due to the fact that he condemned her after saving her from drowning.