Like it did for many people, the pandemic changed things for writer/director Drake Doremus, whose last film, 2019’s Endings, Beginnings, now seems like a prophetic title for the filmmaker, a true romantic, who has since ended one relationship and then met a woman to begin another as his wife. That chance encounter in Madrid has sparked his first film in seven years, Next Life, if not autobiographically, then at least in spirit.
In his new film, Emilia Clarke‘s Ivy has a life changing moment while on a train in London. Well, actually it is two life changing moments, and they form the template for Next Life, which presents a pair of alternative realities for Ivy, romantically and professionally. Deliciously set against the backdrop of the modern London jazz scene, she finds herself confronted with a choice in a bit of a Twilight Zone of two worlds, parallel universes that beg the question posed by poet Robert Frost with ‘The Path Not Taken’. Here, we see both paths and wonder which will be the right choice, if either, for Ivy. In one, she meets jazz musician Diego (Edgar Ramírez) on a train after accidentally bumping into him and spilling her coffee all over herself. This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship in which he encourages her own musical ambitions, which she had pushed aside, and now inspires her to follow that career path as well as a romantic one with him and acceptance by his two kids. In the other reality, where she is on the train but doesn’t spill the drink and doesn’t have the encounter with Diego, she returns to her ex, Noah, her boss at a thriving London office, and a man with whom there might be a more stable traditional future even if it quietly stifles her own ambitions.
Which path will she take? Doremus skillfully navigates this sometimes confusing narrative, which zig-zags back and forth between these two alternate and very viable realities, fusing them with the vibrancy of London’s jazz scene and some lush vocals for both Ramirez and Clarke, notably with her moving rendition of the WW2 staple ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’. The whole score is rich and enticing for lovers of jazz, and it becomes a gorgeous soundtrack as Ivy lives her lives. Smartly, Doremus doesn’t color the situation between Diego and Noah by making one clearly the loser, as is the case with most Hollywood-style rom-coms. Both are viable, both have joyous moments, and both have downer moments as these two scenarios are played out. I have to confess, sometimes it seems to be too much to keep track of, and they do merge in interesting ways every now and then. You would be excused if you didn’t immediately recall the 1998 film, Sliding Doors, also with alternate lives set in London and also sparked by a train (or subway) ride for Gwyneth Paltrow, one where she catches the train leading to discovering her boyfriend cheating on her, the other where she misses the train and thus does not make the discovery.
What Doremus has done though, is to make his own thing with a similar concept, a film greatly enhanced by the lilting presence of Clarke, who is wonderful in this role(s), showing us the glory of fate, and its price. It is a film that may make you think of your own choices in life, what is and what might have been. Ramirez, never more engaging, invests an attractive and more carefree alternative, while Farthing may be less exciting but still someone who clearly loves Ivy, despite a rockier relationship that nevertheless is a viable path to take. It’s complicated.
Doremus, whose breakout film, 2011’s Like Crazy still has a place in my heart, has made a very personal movie this time around that confirms he is still finding maturity as a storyteller, the changes in his own life signifying a promising new path for him as a filmmaker re-energized.
Producers are Doremus, Elika Portnoy, Gleb Fetisov, Ben Pugh, Kate Buckley and Emilia Clarke.
Title: Next Life
Festival: Tribeca
Director/Screenplay: Drake Doremus
Cast: Emilia Clarke, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Farthing.
Running Time: 1 hour and 52 Minutes
Sales Agent: CAA (U.S.); Rocket Science (International)
