‘Next Life’ Review: Emilia Clarke Lives Alternate Life-Changing Choices In Drake Doremus’ Rich And Jazzy Rom-Dram, Tribeca Festival

Article excerpt

Drake Doremus's 'Next Life' follows Emilia Clarke through branching timelines where different choices lead to radically different futures, a structure that mirrors the filmmaker's own pandemic-era transformation. The Tribeca premiere rom-dram weaves romantic possibility with philosophical weight, asking whether the paths not taken haunt us or liberate us. Doremus channels his real-life Madrid encounter that became his marriage into a film that feels both intellectually playful and emotionally earned, using its multiverse conceit to explore how contingency shapes identity.