This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labour of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
With every story about a contagious disease, there’s a survivor and a pursuer. You can expect the story to one of two ways and neither has a pretty end. New Life literally breathes fresh air into this familiar set up. With a solid cast and decent central characters, there is something intriguing and terrifying to be absorbed by. Yet, the film can’t shake off its own confinements. With such a potentially big story, the film feels contained despite there being multiple locations with both main characters on the move.
A young woman, Jessica, escapes a mysterious facility and goes on the run. Determined to get as far away as possible from those who held her captive, she meets kind strangers who help her along the way. Meanwhile, an agent, dealing with her own issues, is assigned to bring Jessica in at all costs. But as times ticks by, the stakes of the pursuit take several dark turns with devastating consequences.
We’ve all seen person the run from shady organisation before, but New Life sadistically twists this trope on its head. We’re made to believe that Jessica is our heroine and hope that she succeeds in escaping to the Canadian border, but midway through, the narrative changes. Elsa, who has just been diagnosed with a life altering condition becomes our main focus. We’re told she’s the best but she isn’t automaton blindly following orders. When she’s kept in the dark, she starts to question her employers and takes things into her own hands. Both women are resourceful, making their chase an exhilarating one before and after the narrative twist.
Though the film has interesting characters and the story itself is compelling, the constrained environment in which we are placed makes the film feel too small for the story. Obviously, as an independent film, there is more to overcome than a studio film would have to deal with. But for New Life, it feels a great shame that such a story which feels like its meant for the big screen is confined and cut short. There are moments that include an entire bar of people who may or may not have been exposed to a mysterious disease, yet we see none of the fall out. All we are given is a phone call between Elsa and her contacts that its being dealt with. Story wise, this may not seem important, but this is an example of the film being constrained. New Life deserves to have exactly that, a new life to be able to becomes far bigger than its original take.
New Life had its World Premiere at Fantasia Film Festival 2023
