Drake Doremus returns to feature filmmaking after seven years with Next Life, a romantic drama shaped by the pandemic-era changes in his own life. The filmmaker, known for emotionally intimate stories such as Like Crazy and Endings, Beginnings, has made a new film that feels personal in spirit, even if it is not strictly autobiographical. Inspired by a chance encounter in Madrid that led to a new marriage, the project explores how one unexpected moment can alter the course of a life.
Set in contemporary London, Next Life follows Emilia Clarke as Ivy, a woman whose future splits into two alternate realities after a life-changing incident on a train. In one version of events, Ivy spills coffee on herself and meets jazz musician Diego, played by Edgar Ramírez. Their meeting sparks both a romantic relationship and a creative awakening, encouraging her to revive ambitions she had set aside. Through Diego, Ivy is drawn into London’s jazz scene, into a relationship with his two children, and into a version of herself that feels freer and more artistically fulfilled.
In the other reality, Ivy does not have that encounter. Instead, she returns to Noah, her ex and boss, played by Jack Farthing, in what appears to be a steadier and more conventional path. That relationship offers stability and a more traditional future, but it also risks suppressing the dreams she has ignored for too long. The film presents both outcomes as emotionally valid, forcing Ivy, and the audience, to consider whether one life is truly better than the other or whether each simply carries its own set of sacrifices.
Doremus structures the film around these parallel paths, moving back and forth between them in a way that is sometimes disorienting but deliberate. The story is enriched by the energy of the London jazz world, along with musical performances from both Clarke and Ramírez. Clarke’s rendition of “I’ll Be Seeing You” is a standout, adding emotional depth to a film already built around longing, memory and choice.
Rather than turning one suitor into an obvious winner and the other into a loser, Doremus avoids the usual rom-com formula. Both men have appeal, both relationships have joy and both contain challenges. That balance gives the film a more thoughtful tone than a simple love triangle. It also invites reflection on broader questions about fate, timing and the road not taken.
The movie will likely draw comparisons to Sliding Doors, another London-set story built around alternate timelines, but Next Life stands apart through its mood, music and emphasis on artistic self-discovery. Emilia Clarke’s performance anchors the film, while Ramírez brings warmth and ease and Farthing offers a quieter but still meaningful presence.
With Next Life, Doremus appears to be entering a new creative phase, making a mature, reflective film about the choices that define a person’s future and the emotional cost of every possible path.
