Whole New Thing (2005)

Emerson Thorsen, 13, lives with his parents in their eco-home in the wilds of Nova Scotia. The precocious teen has completed his first book, writing and illustrating all 1000 pages of it. Meanwhile, the home-schooled youth can barely add 2 + 2, so his mother enrolls him in the local junior high. Emerson isn t happy about the move, and has trouble fitting in at the new school.

One of Emerson s new teachers is Don Grant, a 42-year old closeted gay man. Emerson initially is scornful of his teacher, but when Emerson speaks up in class, Don treats his ideas seriously. Emerson's scorn changes to respect, but soon he develops his first crush on Don. Emerson throws himself into this awakening of the heart with dangerous abandon. Don, who isn t out to the students, reacts with alarm. Eventually, Don has to learn how to curb Emerson's feelings without crushing his spirit. In the process, both student and teacher learn valuable lessons about surviving growing pains. Product Description

Not a whole NEW THING!

I enjoyed the movie. I understand that sexually coming out for the young man is a whole new thing for him personally, but the subject matter is NOT a Whole New Thing.
It is not a horrible movie, but I would not claim it to be one of my favorite stories about a young man having a crush on his school teacher. Worth seeing. January 12, 2008

Post-gay and a nearly exceptional. Nearly.

Honestly, this movie is more a 3.5 star film but I gave it 3, since it was too frustrating to deserve a 4. I think it does deserved to be watched once, but I don't think there's enough substance in the film to warrant repeated viewings.

The acting is fine, especially the lead. I think nearly all the other reviewers took notice of Aaron Webber's sterling performance of a precocious child dealing with his first crush. This is not a coming-out movie; Emerson is a post-gay child. He doesn't think of his sexuality in terms of labeling - it just so happens that his first crush is a male teacher.

What prevents this film from being brilliant is that it lacks both edge and ending.

Edge - The relationship between Emerson and Don began to become realling interesting when Emerson started a game of cat-and-mouse with his teacher to seduce him. Unfortunately, this begins and ends all too quickly. It seemed rather weird that Don could be so weak-willed with partners, choosing anonymous bathroom stall sex, and yet be so firm and resolute with a boy cruising him. The john that picks up an anxious Emerson at the end is a weak plot device, more painfully comical that true. It's as if the director and screenwriter wanted to end the movie with Emerson's and Don's virtue intact rather than be bold and make a statement.

Ending - By the end of the movie, I don't feel that Emerson has changed or is more self-aware. If anything, he just learns how cruel the world can be and that some adults will view him as a sexual object. Don's return to his partner, suggested in a brief shared scene, seems like a bandage to his plotline.

The film addresses a very controversial subject - the sexual desires of a minor. But, it also shies away from reality and believability in favor of weak accountability.In the hands of an edgier filmmaker, it could have been a more memorable picture. December 10, 2007

Finding Self

WHOLE NEW THING is another fine little film from Canada, utilizing an excellent cast of Canadian actors to present a modern day conundrum about identity in a manner more sensitive than most other films addressing the subject. Director/writer (with actor Daniel MacIvor) Amnon Buchbinder has created a series of characters, seemingly disparate in age and outlook, who each has a problem coping with who they actually are, and with great skill this story interweaves these fascinating people, isolated by the frigid planes of Nova Scotia into a complex puzzle that answers far more questions about identity than is at first apparent.

Emerson (a strong debut for Aaron Webber) is the thirteen-year-old son of environmentalist/post-hippie parents Kaya (Rebecca Jenkins) and Rog (Robert Joy) whose creative look at life has provided home schooling for Emerson, encouraged his gift for writing, but now find that there are gaps in Emerson's education that suggest enrolling him in the local Middle School might mend. Kaya and Rog are in a stale marriage: each has needs the other can't appreciate. Emerson enjoys his isolation and is not eager to move into the 'mainstream' by attending school. Kaya visits the middle school and meets teacher Don Grant (Daniel MacIvor) whom she invites to her home to meet and impress Emerson. Don is a bright, lovable teacher who has failed in gay relationships, relegating his needs to visits to park restrooms. When Don comes to dinner, Emerson is impressed with Don's acceptance of Emerson's outlook and decides to give the school a chance.

Emerson, long-haired and androgynous in appearance, suffers ridicule at school but finds considerable solace in the classroom atmosphere Don Grant adapts to suit Emerson's intelligent needs. Don is 42 and Emerson is 13 and while they become friends, Emerson develops his first 'crush' on Don. And while this is happening Kaya meets young stud Denny (the always excellent Callum Keith Rennie) and begins an affair. Many moments of electric snaps occur among all of the characters (a matter of whose crisis is more threatening!) and the manner in which each of the confrontations with each character and conjoined demons occur begin to resolve the seemingly improbable results that alter the growth of each.

Part of the success of a film dealing with such subject matter is the manner in which each of the stories is told. There is no crude acting out, no pat answers, and no unnecessary 'drama' for drama's sake. This is a very honest little film that deserves the attention of a wide audience eager to understand the varying motivations of other people. Grady Harp, November 07

November 11, 2007

A Bit of a Tease

This film has an interesting premise, executed in a fashion similar to fellow Canadian director Atom Egoyan, but reads like a premium channel television show. Basically, it presses the envelope and asks a lot of questions before quickly ending without a resolution, hoping you'll tune in next week. (6/10) October 30, 2007

odd but occasionally compelling tale of adolescence

***1/2

What happens to people who are raised without conventional social boundaries? Emerson Thorsen (Aaron Webber) is a thirteen-year-old boy living with his aging hippie parents in rural Nova Scotia. Even though they clearly love their son, Roj (Robert Joy) and Kaya (Rebecca Jenkins) often act more like Emerson's pals than his parents (they have the annoying habit of querying him about his burgeoning sexuality). After years of home schooling, the sensitive, highly gifted Emerson is enrolled in the local middle school where he immediately stands out from the more conventional members of the student body who have no interest in discussing poetry or reading Shakespeare. Emerson not only has problems relating to the other pupils, but he develops a crush of sorts on his English teacher (Daniel MacIvor, who co-wrote the screenplay), a common enough occurrence, except that Emerson, so long shielded from the societal norms of the outside world, feels no compunction not to act on his feelings, creating complications for everyone involved.

Alternately touching and queasy, "Whole New Thing" is a generally sensitive coming-of-age tale that distinguishes itself with its novel setting and its unusual set of characters. The movie doesn't always feel like it knows where it's going, but that can be as much a recommendation for the film as a criticism of it. There are times when it seems as if it is going to go completely off the rails - particularly in the marital travails of Roj and Kaya - but it always manages to somehow right itself at the last minute. Only at the VERY last minute does it fail to do so, succumbing to an ending that is far too abrupt, upbeat and amicable for what has gone before.

The acting is strong, and there is just enough complexity in the characters and storytelling to make us suspect that MacIvor (who has directed a number of films of his own) and writer/director Amnon Buchbinder, should they choose to collaborate again, will do even more sophisticated work in the future. As it stands, this is a promising early effort for the filmmakers. October 27, 2007

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