‘The New Boy’ review: Cate Blanchett and Aswan Reid stun in Warwick Thornton’s spiritually dense Aboriginal fable | Cannes

Australian director Warwick Thornton lets you know from the beginning that the Aboriginal boy (a mesmerizing Aswan Reid), who arrives at a remote monastery, is a special one. The moment Sister Eileen takes him under her wings, incidents start to unravel. He clearly has superpowers, and his daily dealings with the other boys cause fanfares. 

To keep the harmony and peace within her haven in a time of war, Sister Eileen (an unsurprisingly stunning Cate Blanchett) surfs even further in the sea of pretending. She struggles to stop questioning her beliefs due to the new boy’s superpowers. However, the new boy acts impulsively when the new life imposed on him doesn’t match his true indigenous spirit. Should he adapt to his new life or should she face her interior apprehension?

Blanchett, who also serves as a producer here, is incredibly affecting in this challenging and larger than life role, and not a minor part in the two-time Oscar winner’s eclectic resume. On the contrary, Sister Eileen allows Blanchett to reach new territories as a performer. Her big moments are showy, but never affected. She finds a strong resonance in this role to solidify her current merited place in the movie industry.

The New Boy puts faith at its center by using explicit analogies. What if the convictions we were raised to believe and work hard for is challenged by what is substantial. Sister Eileen is a renegade, but Thornton is interested in her affinity with the boys. She conveys a rare representation of nuns in cinema – mostly portrayed as deranged, problematic or unhinged. In order to keep offering her care and attention to the boys under her sustenance, Sister Eileen hides a secret: she is pretending the elderly monk who is supposed to be in charge is still alive. 

Warwick Thornton is on triple duty in The New Boy as a writer, director and director of photography — which is by far the most technically impressive aspect of them all. The film starts with a series of sensational shots; all of them are well constructed to prove the beauty of his vision. His style, to those familiar with it, has always been grand in scope to make you feel like every single component has been schemed right from the development stage. 

The exigence to let all faiths exist together is the pushing force that drew director Warwick Thornton to nurture this project for over 18 years. Do the results match the legitimacy of his intentions? Perhaps the film leaves you wishing more, but the few moments of grace it does reach may linger longer than I think. This thematically rich production keeps meandering in many paths but manages to hit some chords.

Grade: B

This review is from the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.