The Forgiven

Fourth feature film by British-Irish director John Michael McDonagh, nominated for BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay for 'The Guard'. Based on the novel with the same title written by Lawrence Osborne. Presented at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere, although its commercial release was delayed until the summer of 2022.

David and Jo Henninger (Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain), are a comfortable marriage. He is a renowned doctor and she is a famous author of children's books. The couple travel from London to Morocco to spend the weekend at the sumptuous home of Richard (Matt Smith) and his lover Dally Margolis (Caleb Landry Jones) in the Sahara. After a late meal, accompanied by too much alcohol, David, tired and sleepy, insists on getting behind the wheel to drive the long drive from Tangier to the party, arguing with Jo all the way. But when two teenagers unexpectedly appear out of the darkness, David loses control of the vehicle and ends the life of one of them, a local teenager named Driss (Omar Ghazaoui).

The panic-stricken couple decide to load the body into the backseat and continue driving to Richard's house, hoping his friend will help them avoid the consequences. Given the apparent disinterest of the local police to investigate what happened, the party goes ahead as planned. But when Abdellah (Ismael Kanater), Driss's distraught father, shows up to claim his son's body, he insists that David accompany him to his town for burial. Reluctantly, David agrees to accompany him on a journey that will become an eye-opening experience for him, while his wife, Jo, begins flirting with another party guest, Tom (Christopher Abbott), who allows her to dream of a different life.

Directed and written by John Michael McDonagh, 'The Forgiven' stars Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Matt Smith, Saïd Taghmaoui, Abbey Lee, Mourad Zaoui, Caleb Landry Jones, Ismael Kanater, Christopher Abbott, Alex Jennings and Marie-Josée Croze . A House of Un-American Activities Productions, Brookstreet Pictures, LipSync, Film4, Head Gear, Metrol Technology and Assemble Media production.