- Joe Wright: [Director of "Atonement"] It's a brutal film. Briony is the focus. I mean, I was here playing Briony as director. She's written the film. She's the eyes of the film.
- Ian McEwan: [Author of the novel] Yeah, Robbie dies. But Briony, almost in a cowardly way, keeps him alive... somehow to keep him alive for Cecilia so she can reunite the lovers in her imagination. And maybe get forgiveness that way.
- James McAvoy: [Robbie Turner in the movie, "Atonement"] It's a story that deals with not just a tragic romance... It's actually a story about story telling. Telling a lie is telling a story. She's making something up, which is essentially what authors do.
- Ian McEwan: [Author of the novel] What you must never lose touch of is that this is all being reinvented for us by Briony. Briony has, through letters written by Nettle, Robbie's companion at Dunkirk - she has reinvented this for us so this is still part of her atonement.