Release Date – 15th March 2024, Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 56 minutes, Director – Warwick Thornton
An Aboriginal child (Aswan Reid) changes the flow of an orphanage at risk of being closed, especially in his relationship with the head nun (Cate Blanchett) and her relationship with Christ.
Care Blanchett’s performance as Sister Eileen is a wonderfully subtle turn. You genuinely believe that she’s been a nun in the middle of nowhere for years, completely unfussed by bugs and flies crawling across her face. She’s a strong force in the calmness of the film and its various relationships. The flow of the orphanage which she runs, at risk of being closed if it’s discovered that the priest who was in charge died over a year ago, is disturbed with the arrival of a silent Aboriginal boy (Aswan Reid). An outsider from the rest of the boys in the orphanage, and struggling to communicate, he spends time under his bed conjuring small balls of light from his fingers.
Such moments of mysticism are well-contained within the quiet, simplistic narrative allowing for them to have an effect and not feel out of place amongst the focus of the central relationships. We primarily focus on Sister Eileen’s bond with the unnamed New Boy (credited as just that), especially in trying to teach him about God and the ways of Christianity – his responses varying, tying into the abilities which he seems to have. The mystery is maintained by the fact that we never really know what Reid’s character is thinking, and sometimes doing.
The relationships are given time and space to grow and develop amongst the quietness of the film. There’s a mild, natural warmth created in such scenes, helped by the gentle score capturing the peace aimed for in certain sequences. Yet, the drama at hand still manages to have a loud impact, especially when it comes to the ripples created in terms of religion and faith throughout the orphanage, particularly on the very devout Sister Eileen. When playing into the boy’s understanding of Christianity there’s a good deal to be interested by, helping to hook into the unfolding events. The subtle nature of things allows for the developments and changes to land with extra force, without feeling out of place or disturbing the flow of the film.
Again, helped by the fact that we know very little about this newly arrived child at the orphanage. For much of the run-time this works and helps to propel the questions which surround Reid’s character for the audience, where things falter is in the final stages. As we near an end point the case remains the same for the titular figure. This is perhaps when we finally need some detail so that the film is able to properly stick the landing, so that the ending doesn’t feel quite so ambiguous so as to not tip into creating feelings of not knowing what to make of it – especially as the film starts to feel slightly overlong, largely due to the events needing a bit more understanding of the New Boy.
Yet, for the most part, the held back details and subtlety of the film and its performances help to heighten the mystery and spiritual elements that it plays with. Especially in regards to the way in which religion, and people’s relationships with Christ, play into the developments and way in which we view the characters. All held within a calm and well-paced piece of work which largely allows for the naturalism and mysticism to work together by holding the latter back to suit the calm tone overall.
Cate Blanchett excels in The New Boy, pushing the natural relationships which form over the course of the film, both the religious and more mystical reaches – working well not revealing much for the most part until the latter stages when some information would help to bring some impact to the ending.
Just A Little Bit Random 