Reed Van Dyk‘s first feature film “Atonement” explores the aftermath of an Iraq War tragedy. The film is inspired by the 2012 New Yorker article by Dexter Filkins. Speaking ahead of the film’s Toronto Film Festival premiere, Van Dyk recalls coming across the article many years ago.
He says, “I wouldn’t have been able to maybe name then what it was that drew me to it. But in making it, I can say that, to me, there was something profoundly moving about all of these different sides of a war sitting down together and almost in spite of themselves. It feels like they’re reaching for each other, which to me was a very human and awkward and beautiful thing to happen.” His is a war drama that examines themes of trauma, PTSD, family tragedy and, ultimately, forgiveness.
Reflecting on his initial reaction to the article, Van Dyk says that he was particularly interested in exploring the journey people take after war. It follows the Khachaturian family, who are displaced from their home by U.S. military action during the early days of the Iraq War. They find refuge with relatives, gathering three generations together under one roof.
However, when another bombing erupts nearby, they decide to return to their home across the city. As they navigate the war-torn streets of Baghdad, the family is caught in a firefight between U.S. A Marine’s split-second decision devastates the family: Mariam (Abbass) waves her white handkerchief out the window to signal that they’re civilians who have come in peace, but it’s too late.
Her husband and two adult sons step out of the car, and in an instant, they are lying dead in the street. Years later, Lou D’Alessandro (Holbrook), suffering from PTSD, reaches out to Michael Reid (Branagh), a fictionalized version of Filkins to help coordinate a meeting between him and the surviving family members, in the hopes of easing his pain. That meeting scene is where he really sends a message of reflection and forgiveness.
Van Dyk shot the film in order which he says was helpful when it came to shooting that key scene. I suppose that’s a question that lingers in your mind — will everyone be ready to meet the moment of this very challenging scene that I’ve lived with for so long?” “The emotions were spilling out of everyone,“ he recalls. I’ll say that the crew and I became an audience.
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