Stencil Watercolor Art | Mistakes and Regrets

Ten years ago, I watched a movie called Atonement starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, and a very young Saoirse Ronan. The movie was adapted from a novel of the same name written by Ian McEwan. Ten years have passed since I watched it and remembering the plot and the haunting scenes make my heart aches still. Even though I am a bookworm I never read the novel version of it, simply because I don't want to ruin the amazing experience of watching the film adaptation.

Some of you might have watched this movie but to those who have not, here is the big question:

We all make mistakes. Some mistakes are big, some small, and most of the time we quickly forget them. But what happens when you make a mistake that haunts you every day and there is nothing you can do about it?

Some mistakes are so horrible we regret them for the rest of our lives. And that is the theme of Atonement. This movie tells about the lives of Cecilia Tallis (played by Keira Knightley) and her boyfriend, Robbie Turner (played by James McAvoy) and also Cecelia's younger sister, Briony Tallis (played by Saoirse Ronan). One fateful day, Briony who has a major crush on Robbie and jealous of her sister told a dreadful lie about him and this resulted in Robbie being imprisoned. Four years later, Robbie is released from the prison on the condition that he must join the British army to fight in France during WW2. Cecilia and Robbie's lives are torn apart by Briony's deception. Years later, an older Briony is full of remorse and she makes a lot of effort to apologize and reconcile with her sister.

The plot seems to be predictable until towards the end we are serves with a shocking and sad ending...

The movie got me thinking; what if Briony never tells the lie? The ending would be so much different. Cecilia would probably marry Robbie and have his kids. He probably still goes to war but at least there wouldn't be so much regret. Briony regrets her action for the rest of her life. She tries to atone for it by writing a book telling about the couple's story and gives them a happy ending they truly deserve.

All of us have our own regrets. I have lots of regrets. Sometimes I wonder what would it be like if I didn't act so rashly? What would be like if I gave it a more careful thought? What would it be like if I hold my tongue and not lashing out? The outcomes would definitely better. I would have gotten what I wanted and the relationship would not be broken.

This painting shows a stencil image of a man and a woman. The guy is looking at the girl with regrets. He has made a huge mistake and he doesn't know how to atone for it. The girl is looking the other side. She puts on a pair of sunglasses to hide her unhappiness. She too has her fair amount of regrets.

The rainbow background represents the consequences of his action and also the possibilities they could have experienced had he not messed up.