From Ashes to Us

starring: ASHLEY MICHELLE GRANT & MICHAEL NAIZU

Nurse Cindy’s life turns upside down when ex Jackson returns. Her son calls him “Dad” sparking old flames. Can love heal their painful past?

REVIEW

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Well we can learn a few things from this:

- There may be multiple versions of the Breaking the Ice story, but if you have a good new variation I am quite happy to watch it.

- We managed a whole show without billionaires. Instead we had a nurse and a firefighter. And we all coped!

- Give Ashley Michelle Grant and Michael Naizu a good script and watch them soar.

That is why this is so good. Yes there are some higher quality production things with actual fire engines and big fire scenes, but it all hangs on the connection between Cindy and Jackson. And boy do they deliver.

Ashley Michelle Grant is at her very best in this, as the everyday girl next door. Now this might seem slight but the girl next door is all of us, the mum doing her best is all of us. This is the vertical viewer. And Ashley is one of the best in verticals at selling that character who is a mix of fun, toughness, vulnerability and resilience. Being so brilliant at doing this is a gift.

And I feel like Michael Naizu has been waiting for a script like this to get his teeth into, his devastation at being dumped, his bewilderment at being shut out, and his shock at finding out about Noah. He can sell action hero, and cheeky charmer.

Together they are superb.

Now we did very well with the script but some vertical tropes crept in. The kidnapping could have been something else, Cindy getting trapped on a job. Wish there had been more development of why the mum pushes Cindy away, and Vanessa had a bit more to her than just wanting Jackson.

But I am quibbling here, overall this is a great step towards proving there is life in verticals beyond billionaires and werewolves, and the actors will shine when given a great script to work with.

💖 Top swoonworthy moment:

I was sold from the moment we have that brilliant flashback of their relationship together. But what sealed the deal was Jackson protecting Cindy when explaining why he hadn’t been around as a dad. He could have ‘thrown her under the bus’ but instead he does the bigger, amazing thing. Bravo.

🦹🏼‍♂️ Top villain award:

We have Jackson’s mum and Vanessa. Both do a sterling job - this is just the bit where the writing falls down. I wish both characters had been developed a bit more, and there were fresh ideas about why they both split Cindy and Jackson up. And we nearly managed a vertical without a kidnapping… almost…

😂 Comedy gold:

The headsmack kiss attempt is hilarious. I also enjoyed Cindy tackling that spider with the mop and Die Die Die.

🎺 Unsung hero:

Noah - great job casting as Blake Eli does look like Michael Naizu with that smile.

✍🏼 DETAILS

Director Raghav Puri | 2025

Available on LoveShots and ReelShort