Movie review - New Life

New Life **1/2 (out of 5) This drama opens with a young woman, Jessie (Hayley Erin), running through the woods, head bleeding. She’s obviously escaping from someone or something, but we won’t find out why she’s in this pickle until about halfway through the film. What we next learn is that she’s trying to flee to safety in Canada. Meanwhile, some unidentified entity with extensive resources hires a first-rate tracker (Sonya Walger) to catch her before she can get to the border. Walger doesn’t learn who she’s actually working for or why they are so hell-bent on catching her until well into the film when we do.

Jessie seems like a nice young woman to viewers and to all she meets in her northward journey through rural areas. There’s suspense in who will help or harm her, since she’s alone and vulnerable. And, even more than Blanche DuBois, dependent on the kindness of strangers. Those strangers observing her ordeal on a screen will be pulling for her.

I can’t give more details without spoilers. If you decide to watch, the less you know, the more interesting it will be from letting the answers unfold for you when they do for the principals. I chose this one because the talented Ms. Walger is one of the leads, and she did not disappoint. Either she’s not getting as much work as she deserves, or I’m missing whatever she’s been doing. This role is quite a stretch from what I’ve seen her do before, and she nails the complexities of her character.

Writer/director John Rosman is a first-timer in wearing either of those hats. To his credit, his finished product is far superior to what most rookies can deliver. There’s suspense, a satisfying array of characters and performances, mostly mild action, and some yucky bits. That being said, the screenplay leaves considerable room for head-scratching. Rosman manages to have events unfold in a way that simultaneously make more and less sense. You’ll know what I mean from your thoughts in the quiet moments – particularly in the latter half.

New Life is far from groundbreaking, but it’s a reasonably engaging bit of speculative fiction, with fine performances from the two leading actresses, and a series of locations presumably chosen to add a sense of realism, in an efficient 85 minutes.

(New Life opens in select theaters and On Demand 5/3/24)