After last year’s virtual event, Glasgow Film Festival, running from 2nd – 13th March 2022, will return to a real-world setting. It’s not just the festival itself that is returning though, some filmmakers are too. In 2020 James vs. His Future Self was the talk of Glasgow and now director Jeremy LaLonde and his co-writer and star, Jonas Chernick, are debuting their next venture, Ashgrove.
Set during a pandemic that has affected the world’s water supply, Ashgrove focuses on the story of scientist Jennifer Ashgrove (The Handmaid’s Tale’s Amanda Brugel). Jennifer is one of the world’s top scientists, hard at work trying to find a way to reverse the toxicity of water. As the weight of the mammoth task takes its toll, she is ordered to rest by her physician. In an attempt to take her mind off of saving the world she retreats to the country with her husband Jason (played by Jonas Chernick). The weekend getaway isn’t as peaceful as intended though, the nature of Jennifer’s work having put her marriage under tremendous strain, and as Jason starts to act strangely, she realises he isn’t being entirely honest with her.
Co-written by LaLonde, Chernick, and Brugel, Ashgrove is a well-balanced drama, with plenty of thrilling twists and turns to keep the viewer on the edge of their seats. It marks a departure from the more comedy-centred work of LaLonde’s back catalogue, but one that really works, thanks in part to the fantastic performances by Brugel and Chernick. Interestingly, the project was actually conceived ahead of the arrival of our own real-world pandemic, although it had to wait until a safe window during Covid to begin production. Ahead of the World Premiere at Glasgow Film Festival, we sat down to talk about Ashgrove in a little more detail.
Ashgrove screens at Glasgow Film Festival on the 3rd and 4th March 2022.
