“Peter‚Äôs book is a jolly romp. It‚Äôs very much embedded in the lifestyle of Provence. For the movie, the mechanism for the story needed to be adjusted a little bit, to turn up the volume on the character of Max, who needed to learn an important life lesson. The philosophy that Uncle Henry was trying to instill into this young Max really didn‚Äôt take.”

In 1945, the photograph symbolized the war effort. As a counterpoint to one of the bloodiest battles, the photo symbolized what was at stake, what they were fighting for. And then when you find out what happens to the guys and how they are taken out of battle and brought back for bond tours, you’re left with a very complex set of emotions, especially for people who are 19, 20, 22 years old.

I came to the project with the standard impression of Amin as a buffoon and killer. At first, I had only very dark images of this man.
I saw him as a big, angry maniac. But as I read the novel and did more research, I began to have a different understanding. When you look at old footage you can see that Idi was also an extremely charming man. The challenge for me as an actor was to play a really complete character, not just a stereotyped image.

I found this premise was an amazing opportunity to talk about the present day, using the excuse that it's set in the 'near future.' I didn't want to do a film about the future—I wanted to do a film about the present, and the circumstances today that are crafting our future. This is not science-fiction—it's a chase movie, set in 2027.

Brock‚Äôs personal script also worked its magic on actors like Julie Walters: ‚ÄúIt‚Äôs been five years in the writing, it‚Äôs really textured and real and the people are completely layered and whole, all of them, no matter how small. I was keen to play eccentric, exasperating, hilarious actress Evie Walton.”