HAPPY NEW YEAR – SLIFF Review

HAPPY NEW YEAR is a new drama that explores the problems that must be solved.” When Johnny Comes Marching Home.” In the story of Master Sergeant Michael Lewis, it’s when he’s wheeled in. Lewis is wounded after tours of duty in the Middle East and is sent to an East Coast Veterans’ Rehabilitation Center, which is closer to his home, after a stint at Walter Reade. The left side of his face has been scarred by burns and his legs are of no use due to embedded shrapnel. Besides his face and legs, his psyche is also scarred. Lewis wakes up screaming from nightmares. A visit from his mother adds to his bitterness. His father couldn’t make the four-hour trek to see him, and it appears that his hometown girl has moved on. He’s also frustrated by the fact that he’s been moved to the psychiatric ward due to building renovation. Lewis wants to complete his rehab, regain the use of his legs, and leave the oppressive, dismal place. Slowly he befriends his timid, religious room-mate Jordan, bonds with the other damaged vets in his hall, and begins a tentative romance with a sympathetic nurse. But it seems that with whatever progress he makes, those war front memories send his mind back to that desert Hell.

This film plays almost as a modern spin on Hal Ashby’s classic COMING HOME while owing an enormous amount to Milos Forman’s ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST. One is easily reminded of McMurphy and his crew in the scene where Lewis starts a revolt against the kiddie-movie DVD nights by smuggling in a copy of the classic (and public domain) NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, then leads them in singing “Folsom Prison Blues.” The digital camerawork helps convey the dreary, antiseptic atmosphere of the institution. The bureaucratic director of operations Martinez is not the harpy that Nurse Ratched was, but then The ” Nest” gang didn’t have a nurse in their corner that would take them to a strip club (a scene that’s a bit contrived). This all leads up to the title holiday in a scene that doesn’t quite have the emotional punch it should deliver. The film has an energetic young cast (along with a sprinkling of some seasoned acting vets) and moves at a good pace. HAPPY NEW YEAR is a well made film with its heart in the right place as it sheds a light on the often misunderstood pain of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Showtime
Saturday, November 19 at 1:15pm – Plaza Frontenac Cinema