Doremus Returns After 7 Years With Clarke-Led 'Next Life'
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- Drake Doremus premieres "Next Life" at Tribeca, his first directorial effort in seven years, with the project drawing from personal upheaval: a chance encounter with his now-wife in Madrid after ending a previous relationship
- Emilia Clarke stars as Ivy, whose accidentally spilled coffee on a London train with jazz musician Diego (Edgar Ramírez) triggers a parallel-universe narrative in which she also returns to ex-boss Noah (Jack Farthing) on the path not taken
- The film draws explicit comparison to 1998's "Sliding Doors," another London-set alternate-reality romance sparked by a train ride, though Doremus avoids framing either romantic path as clearly superior
- Clarke performs the WW2 standard "I'll Be Seeing You," with the entire score built around London's modern jazz scene and lush vocals from both her and Ramírez
- Doremus's last film was 2019's "Endings, Beginnings"—a title the review notes now reads as prophetic given his subsequent life changes
- Producers are Doremus, Elika Portnoy, Gleb Fetisov, Ben Pugh, Kate Buckley, and Clarke; running time is 1 hour 52 minutes; CAA handles U.S. sales and Rocket Science international
- The director's breakout remains 2011's "Like Crazy," and the review frames "Next Life" as confirmation of his continued maturation as a storyteller
Why it matters: For Doremus, the Tribeca bow of "Next Life" ends a seven-year directorial gap following 2019's "Endings, Beginnings" and his well-regarded 2011 breakout "Like Crazy," making the festival reception a bellwether for his re-entry. For Clarke and Ramírez, it offers a genre pivot into jazz-soaked romantic drama that showcases vocal range beyond their most famous franchise roles, with CAA and Rocket Science already positioning the film for international sales.
