Top-notch production values, hard to buy the story

Rating: 5/10 (29 October 2009)

*Spoilers* This story begins in 1935 in a British manor house where we soon meet the three main characters: Briony, a precocious thirteen year old; Cecilia, Briony's elegant older sister; and Robbie, the handsome son of a housemaid. The main themes are set up early on. Cecilia and Robie become romantically involved and Briony's initial jealousy turns into vindictiveness based on some misinterpretations. Toward the end of the story in 1940 we have Robbie in France waiting to be evacuated from Dunkirk. In the interim between 1935 and 1940 Robbie has spent time in jail, due to a lie put forth by Briony--he had been released in order to fight in the war. In 1940 Briony is a nurse who is preoccupied with atoning for her lie and Cecilia, also a nurse, pines for Robbie's return.
The period details are well done. The London street scenes seem realistic ("Have a Guiness when you're tired" poster on a London double-decker), the costumes are sumptuous, and the cinematography lavish. The original score by Dario Marianelli is effective and plays a significant role.
I could not stay involved since so many scenes did not ring true. I started to have troubles when Cecilia took off her dress and jumped into the fountain--would she have dared do that in plain view? And how would she explain her soaked dress? There is a major problem with Robbie's letter of apology mix-up. We see Robbie crumpling several false starts with his letter, then, rather than crumpling a highly volatile one, he folds it and places it on his desk. He leaves his final version fully exposed on his desk while putting the salacious one in the envelope. Are we really to believe that? If you were to commit such highly sensitive thoughts to paper (a doubtful endeavor in itself), would you not be damned careful that that paper never see the light of day? Robbie gives his letter to Briony for her to deliver; how convenient for the plot, but how hard to believe. Then there are the scenes with the search for the missing boys. Can we be expected to believe that a prosperous businessman would attempt rape while fully aware that a search party was at large in the area? Would Robbie and Cecilia have had sex in the library in such close proximity to the others in the house? They at least closed the door, but then Briony was able to simply push her way in to catch them. Would Cecilia and Robbie's brief attachment have been able to sustain their love for five years while apart? I think such love happens only in romantic movies and novels.
The recreation of the retreat from Dunkirk was clearly a considerable undertaking, but the main effect it had on me was to want to do some research as to what the actual historical situation was. This presentation with group sings, carnival rides, drunken bar scenes, and a large-screen cinema seemed too strange to be true. And, unless you have some knowledge of history, the Dunkirk scenes could be confusing. Why were soldiers killing horses and disabling vehicles?
Some scenes come out of nowhere without advancing the plot. For example, I could not see what the scene that had Briony tending a wounded French soldier had to do with anything. The horrors of the wounded had already been amply displayed, as well as Briony's empathetic reactions.
At the very end there is an interview with an old Briony, played by Vanessa Redgrave. I was able to appreciate Redgrave's outstanding performance, but I have problems with dramas that lead us down a certain path only to pull the rug out from under us at the end.