Question: Two questions: 1. Robbie joins the army to be released from prison. Does that mean he would be a "free man" if he had returned from the war? 2. Wouldn't Robbie, as a healthy young man, be conscripted into the army anyway sooner or later?
Earthling
28th Sep 2014
Atonement (2007)
Answer: 1. Yes he'd be free once the war has ended or if he's injured and hospitalized. Also, the release form might have specified the duration of service. 2. Yes he would have, but he was already in prison before the war was imminent.
Answer: Remember that Robbie wanted to become a doctor, and had he been able to achieve that dream he most likely would not have been drafted into the army as a combatant.