By Clare BruceMonday 10 Dec 2018Hope AfternoonsMoviesReading Time: 3 minutes
Yes, it’s a movie produced by Christians—but in New Life there’s not a church scene or a Bible reference in sight, giving it the potential to inspire anyone regardless of their beliefs.
Director and writer Drew Waters was grieving the death of his grandfather when he wrote New Life.
The romantic story of a married couple, and the lifelong commitment that sees them through life’s challenges, it’s an uplifting, teary romance that’ll help others in their own loss, grief and tough times.
Starring Erin Bethea (Fireproof, Facing the Giants) as Ava Kennedy and Jonathan Patrick Moore as her on-screen husband Ben Morton, the film’s a reminder of the power of commitment – to a relationship – even in those times when you don’t feel like it.
The Power of Commitment
Chatting to Laura Bennett, Erin Bethea said the message of commitment is one that’s needed in an era when marriages fall apart too easily.
“Ava is really special to me. What I love about her and her relationship with Ben is the way their romance blossoms out of something so innocent. They’re childhood friends, they grow up together, they’re best friends, and then they fall in love,” she said.
“Ava’s kind of the anchor of their relationship. Ben’s a dreamer and goal-oriented, and she loves and supports that but always kinds of reels them back in to ‘us’. ‘Us’ is what’s important and what we need to prioritise.
“That attitude in relationships is so rare, that no matter what difficult things are thrown at us, if we continue to choose and prioritise each other we can make it through anything.”
“What we show in New Life is that some times are easier than others. Sometimes you like each other more than other times. But at the end of the day they’ve made a commitment and chosen each other. And even on the days when it’s hard to choose the other, the long term benefit of putting another person ahead of yourself and putting a relationship ahead of your selfish needs or desires…it benefits them years down the road.”
She said the decision to make the movie very understated in its faith content, was a deliberate one.
“I think there’s an unfortunate misconception that ‘only Christians see Christian movies’,” she said, “[but] the truth is grief or hurt or difficult times is universal and the need for hope is universal. And we didn’t want to alienate anyone… So while Drew and I are both believers and we tell stories from a Christian worldview, we want to make movies that impact people on a global, universal level.”
Drew Waters explained that writing and directing New Life was a way to focus the positive moments of life, walk through hardship and dare to take a step forward out of the valley of grief and pain.
“This movie is my step forward,” he said
New Life is rated PG and is in cinemas now.