ATONEMENT - TALKING WITH STARS BOYD HOLBROOK, HIAM ABBASS and WRITER/DIRECTOR REED VAN DYK

Directed and written by Academy Award nominee Reed Van Dyk, Atonement is a gut wrenching new drama based on Dexter Filkins’ 2012 landmark New Yorker article.

Set in 2003 during the initial phase of the Iraq War, the film begins in Baghdad with the Khachaturian family—a Christian family led by matriarch Mariam (Hiam Abbass). Displaced by nearby bombings, the family attempts to drive back through the city to their home. While navigating a high-tension intersection, they become caught in a sudden, frantic firefight between Iraqi insurgents and U.S. Marines positioned on a nearby rooftop. Unaware that the approaching car contains civilians, Marine Lou D’Alessandro (Boyd Holbrook) makes a split-second decision to open fire, killing Mariam’s husband and two sons.

Ten years later, Lou is back in California, living in San Diego after completing eight deployments and ultimately receiving a dishonorable discharge. Tormented by severe PTSD, guilt, and the lack of support from Veterans Affairs, his life is spiraling toward emotional collapse. Seeking a way forward, Lou contacts Michael Reid (Kenneth Branagh), a journalist who covered the Baghdad shooting a decade prior.

Lou asks Michael to arrange a meeting between himself and Mariam, who now lives in Glendale, California, with her surviving daughter, Nora. Though terrified of reopening catastrophic wounds, Lou hopes that coming face-to-face with Mariam and taking responsibility for the tragic mistake might offer everyone involved a chance at healing and reconciliation.

ATONEMENT IS IN THEATRES ON OCTOBER 2ND

Following its acclaimed premiere at the Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals, I spoke with stars Boyd Holbrook and Hiam Abbass, along with filmmaker Reed Van Dyk, to discuss translating real-life trauma to the screen.