Last year John Rosman’s New Life appeared on the genre festival circuit. We at THN were instantly smitten, however, it is a film that is hard to write about for fear of spoiling its best elements. What we can say is that the story follows two women, Jessica (Hayley Erin), a young woman on the run, and Elsa (Sonya Walger), the operative tasked with finding her.
Amongst all the more traditionally dramatic elements is an exceptional deviation into genre cinema that feels particularly resonant in the wake of the pandemic that we have all lived through over the last few years. Its occasional eerie likeness to aspects of our own, lived through history, may be confronting for some, but New Life is well worth the commitment. Outside of its more shocking moments, New Life is a film that has been put together beautifully. First time feature writer and director John Rosman has put his heart and soul into the production, and it is clear early on that the audience is watching something special. More than that though, in New Life, the viewer is witnessing the advent of a very interesting filmmaker.
With a stripped back cast and isolated story setting, New Life relies on the central performances of leads Hayley Erin and Sonya Walger. Both are mesmeric, and audiences will not regret opting to spend time with these two characters. Although Jessica and Elsa start their journeys separate from one another, the plot chronicles them slowly getting closer to one another. They are powerful on their own, but together, the pair almost combust on screen, both giving fantastic dramatic performances that help keep the more sci-fi / horror elements grounded.
New Life arrives in US cinemas this week, with a UK Digital release to follow in June. Ahead of the US launch, THN were able to speak with both Sonya Walger and Hayley Erin to find out more about this quirky and compelling new movie.
New Life will be released in US cinemas on 3rd May. New Life arrives in the UK on Digital from 3rd June.
