Emotional but not realistic

Rating: 8/10 (19 April 2008)

This film is highly moving, but if I understand it correctly, Briony gave evidence in good faith. Later on she came to realize that she was mistaken and she regretted what she did. But if Robbie had had a good lawyer, this lawyer could have shaken her testimony. She saw the rapist from behind, and he was one of three (four?) men dressed in identical formal wear and about the same height and age. That should not have been enough to convict him without some other evidence. It must be a terrible thing to be convicted of a crime you didn't commit, and I'm sure it happens all the time, but it's only in the way the writer has chosen to tell the story that everything is Briony's fault.