Casting

While reading a novel, people have a tendency to create their own visual of the characters with help from what's described of them in the novel. One would also expect siblings to look somewhat alike, which Wright did a fabulous job with, especially when it comes to the cousins from the north. I would personally assume it to be extremely difficult to find actors, who look very much related, not to mention identical.
In a lot of cases when it comes to film and identical twin characters, the same actor is used for both roles, however, Wright was able to find identical twins; Charlie Von Simson and Felix Von Simson, who fit the characteristics of Jackson and Pierrot. Not only did he get lucky with the Simson twins, Wright was also able to cast Juno Temple as their older sister Lola, who looks very much like she could be their actual sister, as well as being a fantastic actress.

Temple fits the role of Lola extremely well. She was able to play the "pity me" scenes extremely well, making the film that much more believable to the viewers. For example, in the scene where Lola asked to be Arabella in Briony's play, when she says, "it'll be the only good thing that's happened to me in months," you can see the pout behind her facial expression, and the drama and whininess in her voice, making it believable that Briony would feel guilty in denying her the role, therefore giving Lola what she wants.

One, or rather, three of the most memorable aspects regarding casting in this film are the three different Briony characters. Thirteen-year-old Briony is played by Saoirse Ronan, who did an amazing job portraying the character of a foolish little girl who is so caught up in storytelling that she doesn't even realize the extent of her own false accusations. Briony then grows into an eighteen-year-old young lady, played by Romola Garai, who is now in nursing school, and realizing the depth of what she had done as a child. And finally, Vanessa Redgrave plays the elderly Briony, who is now suffering from vascular dementia, which will eventually result in the loss of her memory, potentially erasing everything she had done and who she was and has become, in her own mind -- the loss of her own identity.
Ronan, Garai, and Redgrave all did a fabulous job being casted as Briony; however, were there too many similarities between them? Something specific? Not as actresses, or even the natural physical features, although they were believable as the same character of different ages, there was something too similar. Although I think Wright did a great job with the casting of the film, in this case I think he went overboard with the details of Briony's character, as she gets older. To be more specific, the hairstyle of Briony through-out the film doesn't change! The hair clip is cute and acceptable for a child, however, how often do you see a person keep their childhood hairstyle throughout their lives, as a child, adult, and even as a senior? I'm willing to bet, never. It makes sense that Wright wanted them to all resemble the same character, but each "Briony" is in a different stage of life, and even different years, which should result in different styles.

Please View:

Interview with Romola Garai