The New Boy: Film Review
Warwick Thornton‘s latest feature The New Boy takes a poignant look at how young Aboriginal children were treated in Australia in the 1940s.
Set during World War II, the drama follows a nameless nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan (Aswan Reid) who is found on his own and taken to a remote monastery run by a renegade nun named Sister Eileen (Cate Blanchett). The boy immediately stands out from the others – he cannot speak English, wears no shoes, doesn’t sleep in a bed and doesn’t follow the rules of white society.
At first, the film is primarily an exploration of cultural differences between the newcomer and the other Indigenous boys who have become more and more transformed by Western customs throughout their stay. But the story changes and becomes more about religion and spirituality with the arrival of a new Jesus statue in the church. The boy becomes obsessed with it and treats it like it’s real – hugging it, feeding it and dressing it.
While it felt less focused after this turn, I still liked what Thornton had to say. What the boy is like when he arrives at the monastery is so different to who he is at the end. The boy loses what makes him special and unique by assimilating to Christian beliefs and the norms of white society. He is one example of the Stolen Generation, the period in Australian history when indigenous children were removed from their families by the government.
Blanchett is the most recognisable face and she is as reliable as ever. The boy shakes her up and unnerves her, but she also helps bring some light relief to the film. Sister Eileen has been pretending to be the monastery’s late owner Don Peter for more than a year. One of my favourite scenes involved her pretending she was arguing with him to maintain the ruse to an outsider.
But this is Reid’s film – the newcomer’s performance is so natural and realistic and he expresses so much without words. This is definitely one of the most impressive child performances in a while.
In addition to directing, Thornton also wrote and served as the cinematographer, producing glorious shots of the Australian outback. The visuals are paired with a beautiful score composed and performed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.
The New Boy’s storytelling is uneven but it’s worth a watch because it shines a light on an important time in Australian history.
In cinemas Friday 15th March