When it is not being whitewashed and romanticized, the history of colonization is usually told as that of an extremely violent enterprise, filled with murder, forced assimilation, and disease. While accurate, there is also another history that isn’t necessarily told as often as this bloody one. There is a violence inherent to the colonization process, a violence that isn’t as obvious, but must be acknowledged nonetheless. It is a violence that Australian director Warwick Thornton tries – and mostly succeeds – to depict in his newest movie, The New Boy. Thornton, a member of the Kaytej people, sets off to tell a story of the destruction of Aboriginal culture done not through sheer force, but through kindness – and that, perhaps, makes everything all the more unsettling.
Originally released in Australia back in 2023, The New Boy is just now finding its way to American theaters. The historical drama tells the story of a young, unnamed Aboriginal boy who finds his way into an orphanage run by two nuns in the 1940s. The titular new boy, played by Aswan Reid, is taken by Australian law enforcement to the care of a certain Dom Peter, a deceased priest whose pre-pubescent parish has been taken over by the rebellious Sister Eileen (Cate Blanchett). But the arrival of this child proves to be a disturbance to the delicate balance of the orphanage. For starters, Sister Eileen and her second-in-command, Sister Mum (Deborah Mailman), seem to have a soft spot for the new boy that makes the other kids in their care jealous. And then there is the plot’s magical element. Reid’s character seems to have a power over light, dust, animals, and even life itself. While at first, these abilities go unnoticed, they soon become a test of faith for Sister Eileen.
‘The New Boy’ Is Visually Stunning

This blend of drama and magical realism is shot with a care that would make even the most seasoned filmmakers drop to their knees in adoration. The New Boy’s cinematography, signed by Thornton himself, is one of the most gorgeous things put to film in recent years. Every single shot is a veritable painting. The Australian landscapes sure do a lot to help, but Thornton’s camerawork cannot be discounted. While scenes such as the one in which Sister Eileen carries an injured new boy to bed, reminiscent of Michelangelo’s Pietà, would certainly look pretty no matter who shot them, others, such as the one in which the main character stands in the flying hay or the breathtaking fight that opens the film are more than a little harder to pull off.
Alas, the stunning visuals aren’t necessarily accompanied by a captivating plot. The New Boy is an extremely contemplative movie, as well as somewhat slice-of-life. While there is nothing wrong with that, Thornton’s preference for more visual storytelling often means that the movie can get quite boring. It’s not enough to make it unwatchable, far from it, but you should really be careful when choosing the right day to make that trip to the movie theater. If initially the beautiful tableaus are enough to keep you hooked, as the plot progresses, it becomes more and more difficult to keep yourself engaged. It isn’t rare for a pretty scene to feel redundant as we wait for the story to move forward.

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This sense of moroseness isn’t helped by the fact that Thornton, who also acts as the sole screenwriter, doesn’t bother to give much depth to his characters. Most of them can be reduced to stereotypes: the renegade nun, the kind older boy, the mean older boy, the superstitious caretaker. Even Reid’s title character is little more than the innocence he represents. True complexity can be glimpsed eventually through Sister Eileen’s struggle with her faith, as well as in a short but heartbreaking scene involving Sister Mum and a picture of her family, but, overall, you shouldn’t go into The New Boy expecting to see fully fleshed characters. The children who share a room with the new boy, for instance, could be replaced by set decoration.
But characters aren’t always what makes a story tick. Sometimes, it is enough to have something to say – something that can indeed be painted in broader strokes. And Warwick Thornton sure has a thing or two on his mind. The New Boy is a movie about how colonization can disguise itself as kindness, and how that kindness is still violent and destructive. It is about the different ways in which faith can manifest, and how that faith can be used for evil. The new boy’s strange abilities manifest as a representation of his ties to his land and his people. As these ties come under threat of severance, so do his abilities become threatened. For a while, it may seem as though Sister Eileen’s laissez-faire attitude towards this nameless child is harmless, but her sheer presence is enough to upset his world. Heck, the sheer fact that he is taken to her as a nameless child is already a sign of violence.
Amazing Performances Are at the Center of ‘The New Boy’

This story of genocide through kindness holds up mainly due to the performances of the actors involved in the project. Cate Blanchett is, of course, superb as Sister Eileen, but The New Boy isn’t her show. The actor that truly deserves the limelight is Aswan Reid, a beginner who we sure hope will continue gracing us with his talents. Under Thornton’s direction, Reid exhibits innocence, joy, pain, and fear with so much effortlessness that it can often be easy to forget we are watching a child actor in a fictional movie instead of just a regular child going through the horrors of life. Special props to his powerful gaze, which communicates his growing understanding of the cruel world around him and his reliance on his magic in such a way that it makes Thornton’s cinematic universe the closest it can get to entirely real.
The rest of the child ensemble is also fine enough, though they aren’t given much to work with. The real meat is left over to Deborah Mailman and her Sister Mum, thusly called by the kids because they don’t have actual mothers to look after them. Seemingly content with her life by Sister Eileen’s side, Sister Mum occasionally betrays a sorrow that reveals the true depth of her character. While some of this sorrow is present in Thornton’s screenplay, it is mostly through Mailman’s facial expressions that we get to glimpse into this woman’s inner life.
Combined with the powerful message and the breathtaking visuals, these performances help make The New Boy a lot more than the sum of its flaws. While the whole enterprise can be tolling as you are going through it, the beauty of these combined elements ensures that the movie will grow on you after it’s over. Chances are, you won’t remember feeling a little bored watching scene upon scene of Aswan Reid walking around a field. Instead, what will remain with you is the beauty and the sorrow of a story about a boy whose identity is stripped from him without a single drop of blood.

The New Boy

Albeit a little boring, Warwick Thornton’s new film is a powerful movie that grows on its viewers.

Release Date

May 19, 2023

Runtime

116 Minutes

Director

Warwick Thornton

Writers

Warwick Thornton

Pros & Cons

The overall cast is superb, with special props to Aswan Reid and Deborah Mailman.
‘The New Boy’ is one of the most visually stunning movies in recent memory.
Thornton’s message about the violence of colonization is powerful and heartbreaking.

With a contemplative vibe, the film can often feel boring.
Apart from the leads, most characters aren’t properly developed.