Next Life Review: Emilia Clarke & Edgar Ramírez in Drake Doremus’ Sliding Doors Romance

The film Next Life, directed by Drake Doremus, has emerged as a point of critical discussion following its presentation at the Tribeca Film Festival. Starring Emilia Clarke and Edgar Ramirez, the project explores the conceptual nature of parallel existences and the ripple effects of individual choices.

The narrative centers on a sliding doors romance, a storytelling device that examines how different outcomes might have unfolded if specific life decisions had been altered. In an interview with Deadline, Drake Doremus elaborated on the thematic foundation of the film, stating that there are so many little decisions in life that add up to giant changes.

Despite the ambitious premise, critical reception has been mixed. The Hollywood Reporter characterized the film as an underbaked romantic thought exercise, suggesting that the execution did not fully realize the potential of its conceptual framework.

Similarly, a review from IMDb noted that the film’s exploration of alternative realities felt incomplete, asserting that the romance needs one more alternative existence to fully satisfy its narrative goals.

While critics have debated the film’s depth, the project has secured significant industry interest regarding its international distribution. Variety reports that Vertigo Releasing has acquired the distribution rights for Next Life in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The production features a lead cast including Emilia Clarke and Edgar Ramirez, with Jack Farthing also appearing in the film. The project represents a continuation of Doremus’s interest in intimate, character-driven narratives, though the critical consensus suggests a divide between the director’s philosophical intent and the final cinematic result.

As the film moves toward its release in the U.K. And Ireland, it remains a notable example of the trend of high-concept romantic dramas debuting at independent festivals like Tribeca to gauge audience and critical reactions before wider commercial distribution.