Search - New Year's Day on DVD

Good Story

Rolando A. Perez | Los Angeles, CA USA | 03/28/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Being an Anglophile, no matter what, I would rate this movie favorably. Being the first one to review I like also to be honest. This is obviously a British movie, a Strand Releasing. It is not a real gay movie, however, the relationship between the two boys is extraordinarily close due to the circumstances. There is love between the two main characters but what I consider of a friendship nature. There is no kissing or sexual scenes, there is a tender moment at the end where Steven lies on top of Jake crying.

The story is basically a tragic one. A ski trip to France by the local high school kids turns deadly with an avalanche eliminating everybody except for Jake and Steven. After the accident a school counselor is assigned to both students to work out through their emotional problems dealing with this trauma.

The trauma is too much to bear emotionally injuring both boys. They make a pact that they will commit suicide a year later on New Year's Day by jumping off the Dover cliffs (beautiful scenery.) During that year they make a book of tasks to complete (12). Some of these tasks are very disturbing, especially coming from someone who is emotionally upset.

The movie goes on presenting the boys in them performing their criminally acts. Both boys are at opposite ends of the social spectrum. Steven belongs to a very rich family, Jake from a poor family, single mother who is mentally ill. Jake has a small brother and sister. This set up seems to be very traditional among gay movies.

As the end of the year approaches, Jake and Steven's juvenile attitudes start to change, getting cold feet about dying. There is the scene of car speeding out of control driven by the two boys, it flips, both boys survive. And the final scenes where the boys jump off the cliff surviving the fall. They did not do the task of killing a large animal.

The theme of beating death by a group of kids in a similar situation was made famous by the American movie Final Destination. In that movie the Reaper manage to retrieve some of the kids. In this movie both kids survive three times beating death. The Machiavellian acts by both kids remind me of the German movie Out of Hand.

This is a good story about two boys who endure hardships together. It is a story about true friendship."