Atonement is a 2026 American war drama film written, produced and directed by Reed Van Dyk in his directorial debut, inspired by the 2012 New Yorker article "Atonement" by Dexter Filkins. It stars Boyd Holbrook, Kenneth Branagh, Gheed and Hiam Abbass.
The film had its world premiere at the Directors' Fortnight section of 2026 Cannes Film Festival on May 15, where it was nominated for the Caméra d'Or. The film was released on October 2, 2026, by Kino Lorber.
Contents
Premise
Based on the true story of Lu Lobello, a troubled U.S. Marine seeks to reconcile with the survivors of a family his unit fired on in Iraq in 2003.
Cast
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
Production
In May 2025, it was announced that Boyd Holbrook, Hiam Abbass, and Kenneth Branagh had joined the cast of the film, with Reed Van Dyk directing from a screenplay he wrote, based upon a New Yorker article by Dexter Filkins.
Principal photography began in Dallas, Texas. Filming also took place in Amman, Jordan. Cinematographer Jon Peter shot the film on 16 mm film.
Release
Atonement had its world premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight section on May 15. In July 2026, Kino Lorber acquired distribution rights to the film. It also screened at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival on September 15. It was released on October 2, 2026.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90%, based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.