Casting

Welcome back to the Connections blog and to our look at the adaptation to film of Ian McEwan's award-winning novel, Atonement. The film, which was also nominated for several awards, stars high profile actors such as Keira Knightly and James McEvoy. In this blog entry we will examine the casting choices for the film, as well as the challenges and struggles which had to be overcome, in order to ensure that the cast fit perfectly into their roles. Atonement is a story which focuses heavily on the character's inner-turmoil and their actions as they attempt to deal with it. Keeping this in mind, it was very important for Joe Wright, the film's director, and Jina Jay, the casting director, to ensure that the actor's not only fit the roles, but were able to live and breath the characters which they were responsible for. 


When casting, Cecilia Tallis, Wright stated that, "when [he] was thinking about Cecilia [he] immediately thought about Keira [Knightly] and [he] just felt that she was ready for it. It's a character role rather than simply being a pretty leading lady. It is a very complex role and Cecilia is not a particularly likeable person to start with and then she is redeemed by her love of Robbie and his of her. Wright goes on to state that not all actors would be willing to take on such a role as they often would not want to be cast in the role of a unlikable character. Also, since Knightly and Wright had already worked together shooting Pride and Prejudice, both had a good working relationship, and had a mutual respect for one another's approach to filming Atonement. 

When asked about her views on Cecilia Tallis, Knightly stated that the reason why she likes Cecilia's character is, "because she is a woman. She knows who she is but she doesn't know what direction to go in so she's quite conflicted. She doesn't realise that actually she fancies Robbie who she's grown up with and won't admit that there's anything beyond a kind of brother and sister relationship, and actually it's something quite different.” I believe that Knightly does an excellent job of capturing the essence of Cecilia, and this can be seen quite clearly in the crucial scenes in Part One, including the essential fountain scene at the beginning of the film. 


Perhaps the most difficult role to cast is obviously Briony Tallis. Wright and Jay had quite a challenge on their hands since they not only had to cast one role, but three, for the same character. An actress had to be cast for Briony in her childhood form, Nurse Tallis, and the elderly Briony, seen in the last moments of the film. In an interview with Wendy Ide, of the Sunday Times, Jay explains that casting Briony was one of the most difficult jobs in her career. Jay stated that "casting three actresses to play one role in Atonement was very challenging. We focused on the essence, spirit and intellect of Briony’s mind and soul, and applied this to all three Brionys. That they ended up looking similar is a coincidence – or perhaps subconsciously there was design."

They struggled most with the casting of young Briony, as there were a great deal of expectations for the character, which could not be fulfilled by just an average young actress. After auditioning countless young actresses to play the role, Jay came across, Saoirse Ronan, who is described as having, "a keen sensibility which belies her years, making her perfect for the role of the fledgling young writer, Briony." Jay goes on to say that she was very surprised by Ronan's abilities, considering "Saoirse had not even read the book and barely had time to read the screenplay in depth when we offered her role." Jay goes on to say that despite these limitations, "[Ronan] distils only the absolute essentials of the literary character and understands how to bring Briony to life. 


The part of 18 year-old Briony went to British actress Romola Garai. Since this was the last role of the three to be cast, Garai worked diligently to ensure she had the same sort of "look" as Ronan in the earlier scenes of the film. Garai also worked closely with a voice coach to ensure that her speech was as similar as possible as well. Elderly Briony, who is only seen in the final moments of the film, is played by Vanessa Redgrave. Redgrave also does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of Briony in her later years, and when I watch the final scene, I am reminded of how difficult it must have been to portray all of the essential qualities which we would assume Briony possesses. The role of Briony is essential when attempting to understand the film, so it is very encouraging to see that Wright and Jay dedicated so much time and effort to casting her character, and believe that it definitely shows through in the powerful performances put forth by all three actresses. 

The character of Robbie Turner is also an extremely important role in the film, and considering all of the potential challenges of the role, I believe that James McEvoy did an amazing job in his depiction. Just as with the role of Briony, Wright and Jay knew right away the McEvoy was the right fit for the role. When asked about his decision to cast McEvoy, Wright stated that, James has working class roots and that was very important in the casting of Robbie, whose story is that of a working class boy who is destroyed partly by the snobbery of an upper class family. James has also got soul and isn't afraid to show it. The character is described as having 'eyes of optimism' and James has those.”

McEvoy was given a very challenging task when he accepted the role of Robbie Turner as he had to capture not only the soft and precious moments of love in the beginning of the film, but also the harsh realities and struggles of a soldier at war. When asked about the role McEvoy said that, "Robbie's a bit of an angel really. He’s very straight, one of the most difficult characters I’ve ever played. Joe's so complete - gets the audience, the actors, understands the story he’s telling, and he knows how to make actors better. He really falls in love with his characters."

It is important to note the efforts which went into the casting of the scenes at Dunkirk as well. In each of these scenes, the soldiers are seen interacting in different ways with the coastal town of Redcar, and whether they were brutally maimed, dead, or just enjoying their time before evacuation, each actor does well to contribute to the overall feeling for the scenes, and really make the viewer feel as if they are actually immersed in the terrible times of war.

The efforts of the directors is clear when reviewing the cast  of this film. All of the actors fit very well in their roles, and under the direction of Joe Wright, truly bring the characters to life, just as they are in the minds of the readers of Atonement. I believe that the time spent casting the characters for this film was not done so in vain, considering the outcome. This sentiment is mirrored by the sheer number of Academy Awards which the film was nominate for, including the coveted Best Actor/Actress Award.


Connect: 

• Article on casting for Atonement
• Interview with Casting Director Jina Jay
• Interview with Vanesa Redgrave
• Interview with cast at the premiere
• James McEvoy on getting cast