Atonement in Hollywood and the Old West

After almost five years of on-and-off production and an extensive trial by tabloid, Alec Baldwin’s infamous Western epic Rust finally premiered this month. It’s the story of a tragic death, where a faulty gun kills an innocent bystander, setting off a saga of sin, grief, and atonement as the culprit—the murderer?—plays out his shoddy hand in a high-profile clash with the law. This isn’t just the plot of the film, however, but the real-world tragedy that happened behind the scenes.