Books at the Box Office: On Chesil Beach

Petition to make every Ian McEwan novel but with Saoirse Ronan as the star? I think it was already signed, tbh, and they just aren’t telling us. Obviously,Ronan was nominated for an Oscar as a wee lady for her role as Briony in Atonement, but then, she starred in On Chesil Beach too! Does this mean we’re getting a Saoirse Ronan Sweet Tooth? Fingers crossed.

I like Ian McEwan books a LOT, and the movies are always well done, so let’s take a look at this little book that somehow became a feature-length film, which you can watch on Prime Video.

First, the book:

It is 1962, and Florence and Edward are celebrating their wedding in a hotel on the Dorset coast. Yet as they dine, the expectation of their marital duties become overwhelming. Unbeknownst to them both, the decisions they make this night will resonate throughout their lives. With exquisite prose, Ian McEwan creates in On Chesil Beach a story of lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.

I definitely read this book was a teenager and thought it was so weird that the whole book was about sex, but I also loved it? It was such a short book, such a little delight, and now as an adult I kind of get it, ya know?

And…the movie:

Saoirse Ronan as Florence, Billy Howie as Edward, simple, beautiful settings, directed by Dominic Cooke, who also directed the NT Live Comedy of Errors (okay, lol) but this movie’s so intriguing! Also…Saoirse Ronan-Ian McEwan cinematic universe? Yes.