PLEASE DON’T FEED THE CHILDREN: Michelle Dockery to Star in Spielberg’s Directorial Feature Debut

Michelle Dockery is set to star in Destry Allyn Spielberg’s first directorial feature

Michelle Dockery trades the manor-born aristocrat for a mysterious mistress in Please Don’t Feed the Children.

Statuesque beauty Michelle Dockery veers from playing the refined and glamorous Earl of Grantham’s daughter to the reclusive antagonist in Spielberg daughter Destry Allyn’s first opus. Though no stranger to a variety of genre roles, this promises to be a breakout role for Ms. Dockery into what may be considered gothic horror, which also hints at a significant psychological component.

According to one synopsis, the plot involves the plight of orphans fleeing a pandemic wiping out most of the adult population, only to find themselves ‘at the mercy of a deranged woman.’ This aspect of the film is tantalizing; it may reflect the flavor of the haughty, elitist style of Lady Mary Crawley. Or muster full out crazy lady antics, like that of Olivia, the fanatical grandmother of Flowers in the Attic, or somewhere in between.

Ms. Dockery’s acting career began auspiciously right out of the gate. Trained at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama, she received the Gold Medal for Drama upon her graduation in 2004. As with most stage trained British performers, she appeared on stage in the classics. These included the role of Ophelia in Hamlet, the institutionalized governess Ann in 2009 BBC’s The Turn of the Screw, and — here’s a surprise — ultra cockney Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw’s satire, Pygmalion.

But her most recognized role to date, however, remains that of Mary in the sophisticated Downton Abbey soap and its film sequel. So the prospect of her performing in Please Don’t Feed the Children is an especially exciting one. She may very well have another opportunity to show us the flexibility she so ably demonstrated throughout her career, particularly in a movie envisioned through the fresh perspective of an up-and-coming filmmaker.

Although this is Destry Allyn Spielberg’s first foray into a narrative feature, she is not without accomplishments in what seems to be a budding career in film. Most notably this includes her recent short, Let Me Go the Right Way, which she directed and co-wrote with Owen King, son of author Stephen King. This film took the Jury Prize for Best Thriller at the 2022 City of Angels Film Festival. Ms. Spielberg has brought on board writer Paul Bertino (The Intervention), who is scripting the project.

Judging from the synopsis, Please Don’t Feed the Children is full of potential, with a timely premise yet promising some interesting twists along the way. But we will have to wait until later this year at least to find out; filming is set to begin next month in Mexico.

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