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Opening in theaters on October 2nd is the new film ‘Atonement’, which was written by Reed Van Dyk and is based on a true story. The film stars Boyd Holbrook (‘Logan’), Hiam Abbass (‘Blade Runner 2049’), and Kenneth Branagh (‘Dunkirk’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Boyd Holbrook, Hiam Abbass and Reed Van Dyk about their work on ‘Atonement’ (2026), how Van Dyk adapted the true story, and Holbrook and Abbass’ approach to their characters.
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Moviefone: To begin with, Reed, can you talk about the challenges of adapting the true story this film is based on and as a filmmaker, what were some of the themes you wanted to explore with this movie?
Reed Van Dyk: It’s inspired by a 12-page nonfiction piece in the New Yorker. So, challenge one is what is the structure for a film like this? There are multiple perspectives represented in it, and how do I balance those perspectives? So for me, I was really interested in living alongside, in a very intimate way, the Iraqi civilians who were impacted by this war. So that was sort of the beginning. I knew I wanted to spend time with them. Our first act intercuts between their perspective and the US Marine who the story is also about. Then from there, a structure began to develop how we would ellipse time, and the story kicks forward quite a number of years. So, then there’s also the fact that I had all of the reporting from Dexter Filkins, the great reporter who wrote the New Yorker piece, and then there’s all the rooms he wasn’t in. So, my job is speaking to the real people, getting to know them, trying to fill in gaps and then also fill in gaps with my imagination. It was a big job and because there’s real people at the center of it was a big responsibility.
MF: Boyd, can talk about how you approached this role, the guilt that Lou is living with, and what he hopes to gain by meeting with Mariam and her family?
Boyd Holbrook: Well, I think with a project like this, I knew from the moment I was reading it that this would take a tremendous amount of preparation to find out all that and to explore that. Thank God, Reed had done so much research and I had audio files and we trained with some Marines, but we had such a wonderful script to go from. Then it’s just about having that consume your actual thoughts and slowly integrate into the fabric of hopefully your being. Lou is Lou. I am trying to authentically showcase his story because I think his story and Mariam’s story is why we’re here. I was so moved in reading the script that hopefully that’s what you’re still finding when we physicalize this story. It was very life-altering to be a part of and a great experience to tap into.
MF: Finally, Hiam, can you talk about the trauma that Mariam has lived through, how she is surviving, and why she agrees to meet with Lou?
Hiam Abbass: It’s a tough question really because that trauma of Mariam is just something that belongs to her story and whatever she had to go through. That loss of three members of your family just in a second of your life when you think life is there for everybody. For me, the way she handled that, I though she handled it really well in a way where she tried to move on with her life. She moved to the US, she has her daughter, her daughter got married, they have kids, they all live together. She’s trying to live that grief, but by moving on in life basically until this Lou guy appears in her life, something she wasn’t expecting. She decided from the beginning, “Okay, if you’re seeking forgiveness, then go for it. We give it to you.” But apparently it wasn’t really what he needed. At one stage, I think with maybe the spirituality I would say of that woman, she gathered that there is something more to the encounter between both. Maybe she didn’t know then what it is, but she thought it’s essential. Maybe it’s just like a goodwill action at the beginning. I think whatever happened in that encounter with these two characters gave Mariam a way to move on in a different way because suddenly he was standing in front of her. The youth of that guy, the pain of that guy, I would say spiritually, it’s almost as if a vision came to her mind where, “Oh, he looks like my son in a way.” Is it forgiveness? Is it a way that she just imagined that person existing there in a world where she can make peace with life and peace with death?
What is the plot of ‘Atonement’ (2026)?
Based off the true story of a troubled US marine (Boyd Holbrook) who seeks to reconcile with the survivors of a family his unit fired on in Iraq in 2003.
Who is in the cast of ‘Atonement’ (2026)?
- Boyd Holbrook as Lou D’Alessandro
- Hiam Abbass as Mariam Khachaturian
- Kenneth Branagh as Michael Reid
- Gheed as Nora
- Yara Bakri as Anna
- Kalama Epstein as Pat
