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Downton Abbey icon Hugh Bonneville will star opposite Happy Valley’s James Norton in an upcoming British comedy film. If those credentials weren’t enough, it’s being directed by first-time filmmaker Tanya Reynolds, who portrayed Lily Iglehart in Netflix ’s hit comedy-drama Sex Education. Dog Person is described as a black comedy following a dental receptionist in her mid-thirties who’s trapped between education and exhaustion, according to Screen Daily. A synopsis continued: “When the 33-year-old breaks a tooth, she is forced to visit a new dentist where something unexpected is stirred within her. “She is then drawn into an unsettling fantasy in order to escape the pressures of a society that is preoccupied with perfection.” Reynolds will also star in the lead role with TV and film favourites Norton and Bonneville. In addition to Downton Abbey, Bonneville is well-known for starring in the Paddington trilogy and Bank of Dave, while Norton has starred in several small screen hits this year, including Playing Nice, King & Conqueror and House of Guinness. Summing up the themes of Dog Person, Reynolds said in a statement that the film is about a woman who discovers her fetish later in life. "I wanted to make a film about the desire to stop being a person, even if just for a little bit," she explained. "This is a film about a woman discovering a fetish in her mid-thirties, and how she navigates this while trying to conceive a child with her rapidly dwindling supply of eggs." Despite the rather bizarre premise, the filmmaker and actress assures viewers: "I think a lot of people will see themselves in Sally, even as she eats cod off of her dentist’s living room floor." Vaughan Sivell is producing the film and said he laughed out loud when he first read Reynolds’ script. "It’s so exciting to discover a new voice," he said. "I read it on a plane, and within a few pages, I knew we had to make this film. “A few pages later, I was laughing out loud… Dog Person captures something honest about the pain, pressure and pleasure of being human – it’s strange, beautiful and completely Tanya." Dog Person will start filming in London and Wales next March but does not yet have a confirmed release date.
