Atonement - Certificate 15 Atonement opens in England in 1935, on the hottest day of the year. In the looming shadow of World War II Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan, later played by Romola Garai) and her family live a life of wealth and privilege in their enormous Victorian Gothic Mansion. As the family gathers for the weekend the combination of the oppressive heat and long suppressed emotions coming to the surface create an ominous sense of threat and danger. Briony, a fledgeling writer, is a girl...