"The New Life" (2006, Australia, Daniel Giambruno) A life built on guilt. This is the theme that can be gathered over repeated viewings of Daniel Giambruno's 2006 "The New Life." The story cries out to be elaborated and stretched into a longer film. And more film would be nice as the cinematography, the directing and the acting are all great to go. However, ten minutes abbreviates and crams this story down to size where we are left with the brutalizing speed with which this film turns an ideal life of one man upside down. Somewhere along the line, a man made a Faustian deal, only to be called home by the Mephistopholes of the film. I'll make my nod to Mr. Skin now. The film opens with a young boy throwing a ball for his dog along the evening shoreline. His beautiful blonde mom comes out of the beach house to remind him of dinner soon and goes back in where she brings her husband a glass of wine. From there on in, the crumbling begins. Two very contrasting images to open and close this picture.
There is a very steady rhythm to this film and a solid beginning, middle and end as far as storytelling goes. The visual effects of the demon come to gather up the man in the latter half of the film are interesting. It comes off somewhere between being animated and real. I definitely think this film and its makers are deserving of more time to grow a film around this story. The evidence is in the craft and this film is not only worth watching but watching again.
There is a very steady rhythm to this film and a solid beginning, middle and end as far as storytelling goes. The visual effects of the demon come to gather up the man in the latter half of the film are interesting. It comes off somewhere between being animated and real. I definitely think this film and its makers are deserving of more time to grow a film around this story. The evidence is in the craft and this film is not only worth watching but watching again.