NEW LIFE
A tender, redemptive love story for older children and adults.
Should You Watch It?
NEW LIFE is a caring, contemporary love story with poignant, funny, romantic, and heartrending moments. Its strongest quality is its orchestration: the film treats love as a commitment to care for another person, and it carries a strong Christian worldview.
The story also asks viewers to sit with painful illness, chemotherapy, miscarriage, and grief. There is some kissing, marital bedroom material without nudity or sex, and discussion about when to have a baby. A few lines of dialogue feel overly obvious or static, and some accents are distracting, but the direction brings out the best in the actors.
If your family includes older children who can handle serious illness and romantic themes, this is worth considering; for younger children, choose another film.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESBen, a boy from England, meets Ava, an American girl, in a small town. Their friendship grows into love, but distance, work, and changing circumstances test their relationship.
As they move toward marriage and hope to build a family, life brings challenges neither of them expected. Ben and Ava must decide what it means to love one another faithfully when the future becomes uncertain.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means a good, well-structured film with noticeable flaws. NEW LIFE is well-orchestrated, balancing poignant, funny, romantic, and heartrending moments as it follows Ben and Ava’s relationship.
The direction is very good and brings out the best in the actors. However, some dialogue is on the nose or static, which slows the drama a little. Some accents also seem strange. These defects are barely noticeable because of the movie’s overall structure and emotional care.
The Worldview
NEW LIFE presents a strong Christian, redemptive worldview. It emphasizes redemption and loving the other person more than yourself. The film also includes some explicit Christian content at a funeral.
Its central picture of love is self-giving and caring. Marriage, family hopes, suffering, and grief are treated seriously rather than casually. The film’s Christian perspective gives its romantic story a deeper moral purpose, even as it includes difficult adult issues surrounding illness, loss, and having children.
The story’s longing for redemption and faithful love reflects the biblical truth that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Very strong Christian, redemptive worldview with a theme of redemption and loving the other person more than yourself and some explicit Christian content at a funeral; three very light profanities which could be taken as appeals to God; woman is dying of cancer, painful terminal illness, and many effects of chemotherapy, man takes out his anger by beating up a boat, suggestion of suicide but not consummated; no sex but kissing throughout and marital bedroom scenes but nothing shown, discussion of wanting to have a baby and timing for conception; upper male nudity; alcohol use; no smoking or illegal drugs; and, being a workaholic, light deception, two friends give bad advice.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
What does it look like to love another person more than yourself?
Philippians 2:3–4 · 1 Corinthians 13:4–7How can a family respond faithfully when illness and grief change its hopes for the future?
Psalm 34:18 · Romans 12:15The film connects love with redemption. What does Scripture teach about the way God redeems people and suffering?
Romans 5:8 · 2 Corinthians 4:16–18How should Christians respond when friends give advice that may not be wise or faithful?
Proverbs 12:15 · Galatians 6:1The Final Word
NEW LIFE is a tender, well-orchestrated love story with a strong Christian worldview. Its serious illness and adult romantic themes call for discernment, but older children and adults may find its faithfulness and compassion worthwhile. WORTH THE TRIP — MIDDLE SCHOOL AND UP.
