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Winnipeg Free Press
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Letters from the past deliver deadly message
In Dear Future Me, bestselling U.K. author Deborah O'Connor (My Husband's Son, The Dangerous Kind and The Captive) dredges up past secrets for a group of former classmates, with fatal consequences for one of them. In the small North Yorkshire village of Saltburn, Audrey Hawken and her cohort receive letters they wrote when they were teenagers to their future selves, thanks to the English teacher who assigned them in class and mails them 20 years later. Audrey discovers in hers a note from her friend Ben, who died on a school trip weeks after writing his letter. Mystified, she texts her picture-of-success friend Miranda what Ben wrote; but she never gets a response. Dear Future Me Miranda, upon reading her own letter to herself along with Audrey's message, walks out of her home without a word to her family. The next time we see her she is plummeting to her death from the heights at Huntcliff. The tragedy shocks the community, especially Audrey — Miranda was one of few friends she stayed close with. Audrey's life isn't what her teen self had imagined. After her parents' deaths she raised her younger brother, failed to get into Cambridge and now works cleaning homes — including that of her former peer, overachiever Kitty, a renowned professor. Audrey is driven by grief to uncover the truth about Miranda's death and its connection to Ben's 20 years earlier. O'Connor's prose is crisp and vivid. When Audrey's investigative dead ends pile up, she feels her 'inadequacies press down on her like gravity, pushing lower and lower, until she feels she might disappear into the ground itself.' Excerpts from the letters deepen the mystery, uncovering the characters' past connections. But although presented in fonts emulating handwriting, the narrative voice sounds the same, as if the characters as teens are really their adult selves describing them. They admit things that ring true psychologically (such as the headmaster's son acting out just so his distant father will pay attention to him) but often in analytical terms with the benefit of hindsight. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Having a struggling-to-pay-the-bills cleaning woman as her sleuth means O'Connor could have thrown drudgery to the wind and let the mystery relentlessly drive events. Instead she builds tension in a more true-to-life and satisfying way. Audrey juggles her efforts to find her former friends and discover the truth of Ben's death — and Miranda's — with taking paid gigs wherever she can, sometimes putting her up close with people she's investigating. The discomfort of relying on her successful former classmates while learning their secrets leads to more shocks along the way, exposing the brittleness of social mobility and past dreams — for Audrey, and her friends. One dramatic revelation about Miranda makes it seem Audrey has cracked the mystery — and it shows O'Connor's storytelling skill that, while it's stunning enough to satisfy Audrey (and perhaps the reader, for a moment), it's still not the whole story. With its high-concept premise, intersecting lives and picturesque, semirural English setting — not to mention O'Connor's own experience as TV writer and producer — don't be surprised if this mystery makes for a captivating series to stream. David Jón Fuller is a Winnipeg writer and editor.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mike Downey, European Film Academy Chair, Unveils Slate of Projects Under Downey Ink Banner (EXCLUSIVE)
Producer Mike Downey, who is chair of the European Film Academy and whose co-production 'Girls on Wire' is in Berlin competition, has unveiled a diverse slate of films from his production company Downey Ink at the European Film Market. 'My taste for a diverse range of world cinema projects remains,' Downey said. 'It is the company's goal to connect with the best in writing from European masters, as well as engage with projects that demonstrate a social conscience and also have an engaged political agenda. I'm with Mayakovsky when he said, 'Art is not a mirror to hold up to reality, it is a hammer to beat it into shape.'' More from Variety Arte/ZDF, Port au Prince Board 'Ivan & Hadoum' (EXCLUSIVE) Alejandro Amenábar's Historical Epic 'The Captive' Captures Pre-Sales as Disney Dates Spanish Release (EXCLUSIVE) 'Sex' Review: Masculinity Loosens Up in the First Chapter of Dag Johan Haugerud's Arthouse Trilogy Downey is developing two feature projects with Prague-based producer Sarka Cimbalova at Marlene Films: an adaptation of Kateřina Tučková's hit novel 'The White Water,' and 'Razor Man,' written by Marek Epstein, whose credits include Agnieszka Holland's 'Charlatan.' As previously announced, Downey is executive producer on Holland's 'Franz,' which is also produced by Marlene Films. Downey and Albania's Fatmir Koçi are adapting 1936 Albanian novel 'If I Were a Boy' by Haki Stërmilli. The film, which will shoot in the third quarter of 2025, explores the inner world of a girl living in Tirana, and her thoughts on women's emancipation and empowerment in Albania's patriarchal society. Downey and Koçi are in post-production on a film written by the two of them, 'Lady Di.' Shot in Tirana, the film is a drama about three homeless teenagers who find refuge with a kindly prostitute. Downey has two projects in Turkey: 'The Sun, the Moon and the Stars,' to be directed by Emir Kuelal Haznevi, is in pre-production; and 'LO-FI,' directed by Alican Durbaş and produced by Vayka Film's Ipek Erden, is in post-production. Downey is working with Jamilla van der Hulst and Conrad Alleblas of the Netherland's JaJa Film Prods. on documentary 'Cricket Dreams,' which has just completed post-production. It is the story of nine former street-connected children from Delhi who compete in the Street Child Cricket World Cup in Chennai, India. The film will premiere this month at the New Delhi Film Festival. 'Girls on Wire,' written and directed by Vivian Qu, is set against the backdrop of today's rapidly evolving China, with the film following the plight of two young women and their struggle for self-determination. The film is a genre mix of family drama, thriller and homage to martial arts movies. It is produced by Sean Chen and co-produced by Downey via L'Avvantura Films and Pictures. Films Boutique is handling international sales. Qu was the director of Venice 2017 competition entry 'Angels Wear White' and producer of 2014 Golden and Silver Bear winner 'Black Coal, Thin Ice.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Grammy Predictions, From Beyoncé to Kendrick Lamar: Who Will Win? Who Should Win? What's Coming to Netflix in February 2025
