# Atonement (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atonement-open-spoilers/433499 "2008-01-14T18:09:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atonement-open-spoilers/433499/21 "2008-01-25T17:54:25Z")
[QUOTE=Freudian Slit] I don’t know. But Lola did say she didn’t see who attacked her, so maybe she didn’t know. [/QUOTE] I don’t know about that - when Briony went to the wedding, Lola was startled when she saw her, looked very sheepish and guilty, and rushed out of the church. Obviously feels guilty about something. I think Lola knew who her “attacker” was. But I don’t think it was 100% consensual either - maybe 60%. When Mr. Chocolate Factory was flirting with her earlier she seemed interested - she wanted to seem grownup. Maybe she thought she’d go along with fooling around in the bushes and then had a change of heart and/or was freaked out by the experience. So when Briony appeared and asked who the attacker was, Lola was all “I don’t know - did you see who it was.” When Briony said it was Robbie, _then_ Lola confirmed it. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atonement-open-spoilers/433499/22 "2008-01-25T18:08:43Z")
> [@Waenara](#): > > So when Briony appeared and asked who the attacker was, Lola was all “I don’t know - did you see who it was.” When Briony said it was Robbie, then Lola confirmed it. I couldn’t remember exactly how the dialogue went in that scene, so I googled and found out that you can download the shooting script for _Atonement_ from the Focus Features website [here](http://www.focusfeatures2007.com/) (From the mainpage click on “Atonement” then “Download the Script”). The section for the attack is: > [@](#): > > EXT. GROTTO. NIGHT. > > BRIONY climbs down the steep steps into the bowl of the grotto. Then, once > again, she hesitates and slows to a standstill. > > Suddenly, out of the darkness, there’s a painful gasp; and BRIONY whirls > round, pointing her torch. For a fraction of a second there’s an image of LOLA, > on all fours, her dress hiked up and a tall male figure, kneeling behind her. > BRIONY drops her torch in shock; it shines up in her eyes, blinding her, so that > the man, rising to his full height, turning and scrambling away up the bank, > disappears before she can pull herself together. LOLA’S voice breaks the > silence. > > LOLA > Briony? > > BRIONY picks up the torch and shines it at LOLA, who by now is in a sitting > position. She hurries over to join LOLA, dropping to her knees beside her. > > BRIONY > Lola. Are you all right? > > LOLA > I’m sorry, I didn’t, I’m sorry… > > BRIONY puts her arm round LOLA’s bony shoulders; she seems strangely invigorated. > > BRIONY > Who was it? > > LOLA doesn’t answer. She’s sitting up now, her arms wrapped round her > knees, rocking slightly. They talk in whispers. > > BRIONY > I saw him. I saw him. > > LOLA > Yes. > > BRIONY > It was him, wasn’t it? > > LOLA > Yes. It was him. > > BRIONY > Lola… Who was it? > > LOLA doesn’t answer. > > BRIONY > It was Robbie, wasn’t it? > > Silence. > > BRIONY > Robbie. > > LOLA > You saw him. > > BRIONY > Like you said, he’s a sex maniac. And you don’t even know what happened > before dinner. I caught him attacking my sister in the library. I don’t know > what he’d have done, if I hadn’t come in… > > LOLA > You actually saw him. > > BRIONY > Of course I did. Plain as day. > > LOLA > He came up behind me. He pushed me to the ground and then he put his hand > over my eyes. I couldn’t actually, I never actually… > > BRIONY > Listen, I’ve known him all my life. And I saw him. > > LOLA > Because I couldn’t say for sure. > > BRIONY > Well, I can. And I will. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atonement-open-spoilers/433499/23 "2008-01-25T18:26:58Z")
I have **Arnold’s** interpretation. After Briony walked in on the “assault” and started questioning Lola about what had just transpired, it seemed to me that Lola deliberately didn’t reveal anything more than what Briony had seen or assumed. Briony responded as if she’d been attacked, so Lola started acting that way. Briony didn’t see who her “attacker” was, so Lola confessed to not seeing him either. It didn’t seem like she started acting traumatized until after Briony revealed her assumptions. Earlier when she showed the bruises on her arm and blamed them on the boys, it showed that she was dishonest and willing to lie in order to cover up her naughty girl behavior. It can’t be mere coincidence that she goes on to do the very same thing when she’s caught fooling around with the chocolate man. On edit: Well, Briony did claim to see the “attacker”, but it’s clear that once she spoke Robbie’s name, Lola went with the flow because it was her way out of a embarrassing situation. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atonement-open-spoilers/433499/24 "2008-01-25T20:30:52Z")
The more I consider this story, the more I hate Briony - and I’ve only read the book, not seen the movie. In making a character real enough to be hated, the author succeeded. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atonement-open-spoilers/433499/25 "2008-01-26T17:56:48Z")
I don’t hate Briony at all. She had read something that squicked her out, then she saw something in the library that scared her, then she saw something outside – for a fraction of a second – that terrified her. Add an active imagination to that mix and you’ll get a misunderstanding. I think she truly believed the Handsome Young Hero was the attacker. Actually, I spent much of the movie convinced that he WAS the attacker and that this revelation would be The Big Twist. I like the film’s ambiguity about exactly what happened and what Briony knew. I still can’t decide whether the Redhead was attacked or was engaging in consensual sex. If attacked, I’m not sure whether she knew who did it. Why did she end up marrying the Chocolate Magnate? Hell, did that even really happen? Maybe it was another piece of the happy ending Briony cooked up. That said, I wasn’t thrilled by the movie. The structure of jumping back and forth in the timeline made it hard to get emotionally invested in the love story. Without that, it was basically an intellectual exercise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atonement-open-spoilers/433499.md?page=1)