The Will celebrates its first anniversary on PassionFlix

It was one year ago in February 2020 that the stars of the newest PassionFlix film The Will gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate the premiere of the movie, which is based on Kristen Ashley’s beloved book about a woman who goes home to settle her grandmother’s estate but discovers that she’s exactly where she belongs.

The Will marks the last PassionFlix movie that debuted under normal circumstances, arriving mere weeks ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut the country down for months. In a lot of ways, The Will was the perfect movie to help anxious fans ease into the new normal.

Megan Dodds and Chris McKenna were perfectly cast as Josie Malone and Jake Spear. Josie’s fast-paced lifestyle clashed with Jake’s relative nonchalance. Little did Josie know she’d arrive to settle her grandmother Lydia’s estate only to find that Jake’s family had been unofficially adopted by her late grandmother and all of a sudden she had people around her who knew everything about her, her life and her life with her grandmother.

In her will, Lydia bequeathed her beloved granddaughter to Jake for safekeeping, hoping that the introduction during the reading of the will would be enough to help them see that they needed each other.

It works…eventually.

The Will is the last pre-pandemic release from PassionFlix

Dodds brings elegance and sophistication to jet-setting Josie Malone. Her link to her past was her grandmother, and Lydia’s loss means that the last tie to the only happiness she knew as a child was gone. Then she meets Jake.

Watching Jake break down Josie’s barriers was a lot of fun. McKenna played the smooth talking Jake Spear with gusto; Jake Spear has a reputation as a tough guy, both as a semi-retired fighter and a father of three, but Josie becomes his weakness. (And who doesn’t love that fight scene?)

Though their relationship was technically orchestrated by Josie’s grandmother initially, Josie and Jake manage to see what Lydia saw in them and it allows them to develop a very strong bond.

One of the reasons The Will was a movie I turned to during the long months of quarantine in 2020 is that it’s so normal, but Josie and Jake’s love for each other is so epic. It’s a simple, sweet love story featuring two people who could have crossed paths at any point in the past, but it’s the death of a loved one that brings them together.

It’s the last PassionFlix movie to be released pre-pandemic, meaning it was filmed, edited and released like any other film was before life changed, and there’s some comfort to be found in that. Just a few short months after The Will was released, Gabriel’s Inferno had to skip its premiere because of the pandemic, with a great deal of post-production done during lockdown.

From now on, there will always be a “before COVID” and “after COVID” and for PassionFlix, The Will encapsulates life before the pandemic and it’s a great way to take a mental break when you need an escape these days.

The Will was directed by Louise Alston, with a script by Joany Kane. It’s available to stream now on PassionFlix.