The New Boy - Reviews

Thornton’s cinema is one of enormous, orchestral music and vast landscapes that envelop and invite us in, even if you feel like you don’t know where you’re going or shouldn’t be allowed to look around.

...only a period setting would give us the spectacle of Blanchett in the complete picturesque nun outfit, now a rarity in the modern age.

An ambitious undertaking by one of Australia’s best.

It is a curious confection, with a tone that flits between a serious study of colonialism and religion, and something more fantastical or supernatural.

Gorgeously shot and intellectually/emotionally provoking, the film tantalizes with transcendent revelations but is simultaneously unbalanced in how it approaches its characters and minimalist storytelling.

Debut actor Reid proves a strong on-screen presence in the title role of writer-director Warwick Thornton's fantasy drama.

...a film less concerned with plot than with presence. It’s not perfect, but it’s unforgettable.

...depicts the pain and confusion of assimilation through the eyes of a young boy who can’t even describe what’s happening to him.