Unbelievable!

Rating: 3/10 (27 May 2008)

Unfortunately, this film is unbelievable in the less charitable sense of the word.
It is holed below the waterline by the same deficiencies that, for me, sank the novel. Ian McEwan seems to lead a charmed life as a Booker banker, but the reasons remain puzzling. He can certainly write well, if unexceptionally, but his plot lines are full of the kind of incredible conceits that are difficult to take seriously. As a result their professed moral import turns to dust on the slightest scrutiny.
In this case the mistakenly sent letter and, more outrageously still, the false accusation, serve as McGuffins to generate the narrative, but undermine any kind of moral consistency. Is it possible that a precocious and impressionable young girl could deliberately accuse another of such a crime out of a fit of jealous pique? Well, conceivably. Is it possible that a family that had taken the accused under its wing, educated him at great expense and sought to secure his future, take that accusation without any real investigation (in the book or the film)? Not conceivably. As a result of the ineptitude with which this situation is portrayed, the rest of the film loses any sense of tension or interest.
The final section, with the fictionalised fiction(!), which comes off much better in the book, worked less well in the film, while the stilted and contrived 'interview' simply came across as a rather desperate bit of exposition. And ultimately, the idea that Briony could 'atone' for her behaviour by writing a happy ending to the tale of two destroyed lives bears little examination - rendering the whole novel/film otiose.
I can't fault the direction, which is what one would expect of a traditional approach to a traditional novel. The acting, of what was a pretty undemanding script, was fine, but hardly Oscar material. Which leaves one pondering as to how it has garnered so many accolades.