Beautiful movie but not ideal for rewatching

Rating: Null/10 (7 June 2016)

I first watched this in 2007 and this became one of my favorite movie because of the ending and the overall plot and its twists. It's heart-wrenching and different from your typical romance dramas. I'm bias for the two main characters Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. I saw my rooted couple torn apart then back together then *BAM* a plot twist again saying just kidding, they're not together after all.
I have to give credit to Saoirse Ronan for portraying the core of Briony so well that I am reminded of Briony every time I see Saoirse the actress. The Briony character is the one that causes me so much distress watching this movie because it was her false accusation that took away the happiness of others. Yet in the very end, she says: "I gave them their happiness." It's characters like Briony that makes a movie good and frustrating to watch.
I rewatched this again in 2011 and I didn't like the film as much as I remembered I had. Perhaps I was judging the film solely on its great ending twist. Or perhaps it's because I already know all the plot the second time I'm watching this so the excitement from the unknown is gone. Either way, I found the movie moved at a very slow pace. The middle part where Robbie was at war was dragged on to the point of boring. I seriously think the movie is still as good without the middle intermission that slowed down the movie's momentum.