New Year's Day

...this is a film with a great deal of raw quality.

Two adolescent friends - one with all life's supposed headstarts, the other burdened with a shedload of reality - share a common battle to face up to their personal tragedy.

The interactions between the leads are well acted, but strangely in keeping with their social differences, the strongest empathy with each is possible when seen acting without the other.

An extremely strong film visually and probably best seen if you've just had a really s***ty day yourself. Welcome to the real world!

9/10

PS Great soundtrack...

I saw this film at the Sundance film festival, and it was fantastic! Two teenagers who decide to kill themselves on new years day (one year away), decide to spend their last year living out their friends dreams (their friends had recently died). They rob a bank, burn down the school, perform surgery, and do many other things. The film was deeply emotional, highly dramatic, and incredibly entertaining. Certainly worth seeing

This film really deserves to be seen by the general public! I was really impressed, because I didn't really know what to expect of it. But I was thrilled! Great actors, an interesting, original story (although it sometimes reminded me of other British movies, like e.g. A Clockwork Orange and Beautiful Thing, but those were also great!). It's just a very fine and well directed piece of cinema! I also liked the music very much! I hope it finds a public!

I saw this film at a student screening at the Duke Of Yorks in Brighton...i was incredibly impressed. The plot is well thought out if a little cluttered and the screenplay creates two believable teenage characters. Not the stereotypes that often appear in cinema. The makers also avoided the 'gritty realism' angle so often favoured by British independent film makers.

The cinematography is beautiful and no time is wasted trying to justify the two characters actions. Audiences are left to make up their own minds about the moral implications and justifications of the 'tasks'. And crucially..a happy ending is avoided without making the audience leave the cinema depressed.

Some criticisms can be levelled at New Years Day, the plot is cluttered, and budget limitations mean the first 20 minutes are annoyingly difficult follow..and the fake snow is blatantly fake. The characters Jake and Steven spend the film mourning are not sufficiently created to allow for real sympathy for them. The ending is also weird although it is hard find a better way to conclude and after listening to the directors justifications I am inclined to agree that this is the best way to end.

All in all a superb British film that avoids the costume drama and gritty realism cliches in favour of an entertaining plot that makes you think. SOMEONE PUTS THIS FILM ON COMMERCIAL RELEASE...THE PUBLIC NEEDS IT!!!

I originally found this in the queer section of a shop ( I think the management could use a little guidance, as they placed GET REAL alphabetically in general circulation. Actually, New Year's Day at its core is about two very tight school mates who try to deal with being the only two survivors following a horrible avalanche that claims everyone else on a holiday school trip.

I understand that some viewers might find this film a little plodding, and others will see the principal characters as simple hooligans checking off their list of twisted chores in their 'book of life'. There's room for opinion here,except that which maintains the two boys don't care for each other. Probably the most memorable line spoken is when Jake tells Stephen, and I paraphrase, ' i saved your life before. I'm not prepared to help you die, now'. I hope viewers will take a chance on this film, if only to watch that scene.