Control In Atonement

Denise, how she irritated me; she was the one who always had to be in control, and was always right. She seemed to always get her way. Denise was the most popular kid in my fifth grade class and everyone seemed to follow what she said. She controlled the other kids, and even the teachers. No matter what school, or age group, there is always one person that has to be in control of everything. The world revolves around them, and anything or anyone that does not agree, is not a part of their world. However, no one expects someone that is only thirteen years old to possess that kind of power over adults. I was shocked while watching Atonement to discover the amount of influence that young Briony Tallis’ actions have over the lives of the people

In the very first scene of the movie, the audience see's a neatly ordered parade of animals lined up past a model of the Tallis estate. The animals are arranged in a neat, ordered line, leading to Briony as she sits at her desk typing the end of her play. This scene takes place in Briony's room, and the animals undoubtedly have been arranged by her. The animals are representations of the characters in Briony’s fictitious world, but they are also representative of real people who are in Briony’s life. Everything in Briony's life is orderly, just as the line of animals. The animals are facing her since she is the controller of their fate; this mirrors the adoration that every other character shows Briony at the beginning of the film as she is going to unveil her play. Later, when Briony finds the letter from the twins, there are toy animals scattered across the bed. Briony’s perfect world is beginning to fall apart. The animals, as representations of characters, are scattered and disorganized, a sign that Briony’s peaceful world is coming apart. These toy animals are symbolic representations of Lola and the twins, since their refusal to bend to Briony's wishes is the root of the chaos that has befallen her world. At this point in the film, she has witnessed the scene between Cecilia and Robbie at the fountain, and comes to the

Briony witnesses Robbie and Cecilia at the fountain from an upper level window of the Tallis mansion. Wright specifically positions her above and watching the other characters to demonstrate Briony’s authority in the Tallis household. She towers above the other characters in the scene, which makes her appear superior to them. Figures of authority and ultimate power are the very tip of the hierarchical structure; everyone else is below them and takes orders from them. This particular positioning is used frequently throughout the film. In a later scene, Briony watches as Robbie is arrested, and she is once again looking out from a higher window. Wright uses Briony’s higher positioning in this scene to confirm that Briony possesses control over the fate of the other characters, but most notably Robbie. In each of these scenes, Robbie is the focus of Briony’s attention. He is the person in the direct center of the shots from Briony’s point of view at the windows. Earlier in the film, when Briony is going over her play with Lola and the twins, she states that: “If you're going to be Arabella, then I'll be the director, thank you very much” (Atonement). This line of dialogue reveals to the audience that Briony considers herself the director over the other characters. She directs life like it is a play, and the lives of the other characters don’t