Phoebe Dynevor Embraces Her Inner Jason Bourne in Spy Action Film ‘Inheritance’ — Watch Trailer
Step aside, Jason Bourne: There’s a new star in the espionage genre.
Phoebe Dynevor makes her action debut with “Inheritance,” the latest thriller from acclaimed filmmaker Neil Burger. “Bridgerton” alum turned indie darling Dynevor leads the feature as Maya, who learns that her father is an ex-spy. Yet Maya becomes caught up in a globe-spanning scheme that puts her on the run — and reveals who she truly is.
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The official synopsis reads: “When Maya (Dynevor) learns that her father was once a spy, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an international conspiracy. In her quest for answers, Maya becomes a target and must travel the globe, mastering her father’s skills and unraveling the mysteries of his past in this gripping espionage thriller.” Rhys Ifans co-stars.
Burger directs from a script he co-wrote with Olen Steinhauer. Burger, Bill Block, and Charles Miller produce the feature.
Burger in an interview with IndieWire reflected on how all of his films, from “Divergent” to “Voyagers” to “The Marsh King’s Daughter” and now “Inheritance” deal with characters questioning their own sense of self. But the story of “Inheritance” itself grew from a desire to travel the world after the pandemic.
“The story of ‘Inheritance’ stems from an idea I had during COVID. During that time, most filmmakers wisely chose more contained stories, but I wanted to go around the world, see what the new normal was, and how people were in this moment of history, essentially what life was like on the street,” Burger said. “So I created a story with the writer Olen Steinhauer that took us from New York to Cairo to New Delhi to Seoul and back to New York. It’s an international thriller. Maya pursues her father, who may be a spy or worse, as she tries to find the truth about herself. The movie has a guerrilla, stolen style which makes sense because Maya herself has a little problem with stealing things.”
That “guerrilla” style extends to the film’s cinematography, as Burger filmed “Inheritance” entirely on an iPhone.
Dynevor told IndieWire that the indie style of “Inheritance” made it the ideal film to mark her foray into the action genre.
“From the get-go it always felt like such a fresh concept,” Dynevor said. “Getting to travel all around the world shooting on an iPhone was a challenge that I really wanted to be a part of. It was definitely less about the action aspect and more about this experimental style of shooting. It was such a unique experience and probably something I’ll never get to do again. There was no wait time for camera set- ups, no makeup checks, or rehearsals. We’d arrive at the location and then immediately shoot as much as we could in the time that we had. It enabled us to travel with a small crew and have to stay in character a lot.”
The “Fair Play” actress even quipped that staying in character so much nearly got her in trouble.
“I just remember hanging off a harness looking down at New York whilst smoking a cigarette in one hand and drinking out of the other. The whole time I was thinking…what is my life?!” Dynevor said. “I also almost got arrested for staying in character on the streets of New York and thinking I was in a ‘Borat’ movie.”
Burger echoed Dynevor’s dedication to the role of Maya, especially when it came to letting Dynevor test herself by embracing a new genre.
“As a filmmaker, you’re always looking for new talent. Phoebe distinguished herself and became a star in ‘Bridgerton,’ and when she expressed interest in my project, I was intrigued,” Burger said. “In that show she was somewhat prim and proper. In ‘Inheritance’ she’s badass — witty and caustic and self-destructive and enterprising. And a bit out of control. It’s a Phoebe we haven’t seen before, but I knew from our first meeting she could do it. She had a toughness and a wit I hadn’t expected and I was completely sold. Since then I’ve seen how incredibly talented she is. Up until now, people have only seen a tiny sliver of what she’s capable of. ‘Inheritance’ will change that — people will be knocked out by her performance.”
As for an “Inheritance” sequel or possible franchise like the adaptations of the “Divergent” series, both Burger and Dynevor are keeping it open.
“It all depends on what kind of success it has. But if there’s even a glimmer of interest, we already have the next film mapped out,” Burger said. “And in a way, it is about maps, about world travel, about literally traveling around the world just as we did on this movie. We would take a different trajectory of course, a different route around the globe, but it definitely would have the same immersive and dynamic energy. We have the cities picked out. Now we just need the green light.”
Dynevor added, “We always talked about ‘Inheritance 2’ whilst we were filming and thought about what that would look like. I think Maya would make a wonderful spy. I’d love to see her thriving at that if we make another movie.”
“Inheritance” premieres January 24 in theaters from IFC Films. Check out the trailer below.
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