Amber Heard has a disturbing encounter with a troubled child in her new film In flames.
Heard, 37, plays American psychiatrist Grace Burnham, who travels to Colombia in the 1890s to evaluate a disturbed boy, Martin (Lorenzo McGovern Zaini), who many believe is possessed by the devil.
She begins treating the child and in doing so “ignites a science vs. religion war with the local priest,” according to the synopsis.
dr. Burnham “is a woman who was a doctor at a time when it was very, very rare … and she’s trying to prove herself,” director Conor Allyn told PEOPLE earlier this summer at the 69th Taormina Film Festival.
Amber Heard returns to acting in intense trailer for new thriller ‘In the Fire’
Amber Heard in “On Fire”.
Saban Movies
In a clip shared exclusively with PEOPLE, Dr. Burnham plays word association with Martin while a metronome taps ominously. After she mentions the boy’s mother, he gives her a creepy look and says, “We’re all going to die because of me.”
Stunned into silence, Dr. Burnham looks at Martin, who repeatedly asks her, “What’s your lie?”
Heard told PEOPLE in Taormina In flames is “a beautiful film about the almost supernatural effect and power of love.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(726x176:728x178)/Amber-Heard-trailer-092023-7-c4b2c708ccd1458393270e7890b1639a.jpg)
Amber Heard stars in the movie ‘On Fire’.
Saban Movies
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“It’s about the boundaries that love can cross and their creation, and actually about the irresistible power that love has,” she continued. “I don’t want to sound cheesy, but it’s a movie about love.”
Allyn told PEOPLE that Heard gives incredible performances. “I think In flames shows her talent as an actress. I know this is something she’s very proud of and it’s something we’re very excited to announce to the public,” he said.
“I really felt that Amber had an immediate connection with this character and her skills and talents and intelligence, but also her flaws,” he continued. “She could bring them to life in a way no one else could.”
“As soon as she signed the film, she first immersed herself in research, reading the science of psychology – not the modern science, but the things that were being read in the 1880s and 1890s. She took it all in and started building the character and doing a lot more than what I wrote on the pages,” added Allyn.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(498x119:500x121)/Amber-Heard-trailer-092023-9-8eea0c3604e34a848c8a7382279b380a.jpg)
Saban Movies
Amber Heard calls her return to the spotlight a year after Johnny Depp’s trial ‘unforgettable’
The director said Heard stayed late on set to get extra practice. “She knew every sentence by heart, and she knew other people’s sentences, and she knew all the research behind it,” says Allyn.
Although she made the film before her highly publicized defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp, it is the first film to debut after that.
“I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for her to have something more than the trial and things to talk about and be a platform for one hell of a comeback,” Allyn added.
In flames is cinema and digital Friday.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education