This something is all too easy to miss, both in the book and the film, which McEwan took the time to adapt himself, presumably because it’s such a subtle book and another screenwriter might have overdone it – particularly this bit. So Edward and Florence (played by Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle) clumsily reach the bed on the wedding night after some bad beef and watered down wine, attended by waiters who make them feel silly and small, like kids instead of adults. The undressing and kissing that follows is excruciating, almost unbearable to read and to watch in the film because Edward is trying so hard, and Florence is lying on the bed motionless, tightly clenching her fists and using all her might not to look disgusted. Edward prematurely ejaculates onto her thigh and she screams and runs out of the room. But it’s not just the awkwardness of first-time sex. It’s not just that they’re inexperienced and extremely nervous; that’s all it is for him, probably, but for her it’s something much darker. On Chesil Beach is well known for being a brilliant book about bad first-time sex. It’s less well known for being a book about the devastating effect of child abuse. In the book, as Edward is undressing, Florence is reminded of a sailing trip with her father when she was 12: