Atonement?

Rating: 5/10 (8 August 2013)

It had a amazing fantastic set-up...but then...fell flat. What I liked: ~The replay of scenes from a different perspective. If you weren't paying attention, you'd be in the dark. ~Great looking film ~solid performances
What I didn't: ~obvious misdirection - I can't help feel this lie would've been investigated and cleared in less than four years. Furthermore, the explanation as to why is silly. ~bleak. Why not a happy ending? Or better...why not go even bleaker. Having read others' reviews on the book, it seems the book's ending would've given Briony a more harsher "sentence."
I genuinely wanted to love this movie. In fact, I wish I would've seen it in theaters. I think the experience would've been different. I think I would've been more immersed in the tragedy of the story. As it were, I found myself easily distracted when the lie snowballed into Briony's sad desperate attempt at atonement.