I suppose that most movies are pretty unrealistic. People rarely speak in real life, the way they do in movies and in real life you don't have a soundtrack following you around.
In this sense, The New Year was almost like a documentary or reality show. But I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing. You could say that this little film is much more true to life than most Hollywood blockbusters. But we don't necessarily watch a movie for realism. We usually watch for escapism, or at least compelling storytelling.
Clearly these film makers started with good intentions. It's a slice of life in Pensacola, Florida among the college aged. They attempt to tell one girl's story and show how an ordinary person reacts to their circumstances in a nondescript workaday town. But I'm not entirely clear on why our main character, the daughter of a professor, must work in a bowling alley, have a really low grade best friend, and date working class type guys.
You have to accept the premise in order to accept the movie, and those were the elements of the premise. Why couldn't she get a more upscale job and upscale boyfriend? Also, she hates Pensacola, but she never officially explains why. We are supposed to assume it's because she's educated and worldly, and the town is a provincial backwater outpost for rednecks and yokels. She can't find peers, so she has to hang out with ineffectual losers.
But surely there must be young professionals in town. The soundtrack mostly comes during transitions, but not during dramatic moments, so it maintains its' pseudo documentary or reality movie status.
The acting is excellent, unless the people are just being themselves. I see that the female lead and the guy who played her boyfriend, both went to school in North Carolina. They must have known each other. The others may not even be regular actors.
The writers and directors did a more than adequate job of conveying the angst and confusion associated with a person's transition from young adult to full fledged adult. But in this case, the person's life is super depressing.
If you like pure storytelling and you can relate to the birth pangs of youth, you will probably find this film reasonably stimulating. I did not "enjoy" it per say, but it held me 'til the end. For that I give it credit.
