62
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83IndieWireElla KempIndieWireElla KempIt’s the kind of culturally specific filmmaking that somehow immediately gains universality in that ambition to connect, to understand the empathy and sensitivity to listen in to these conflicts and this bright spark of a boy who speaks to struggles of faith however you were raised.
- 80Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganScreen DailyFionnuala HalliganWhat sets it apart is Thornton’s deep spirituality, examined here as the titular ‘The New Boy’ encounters – and explores – Christianity. But it is not a two-way street: Christianity will never accept who he is.
- 78TheWrapSteve PondTheWrapSteve PondThere’s not a lot of clarity here, but there is a terrible, strange beauty in the film’s mixture of ritual, magic, faith and the dark side of colonialism. By the end New Boy has a name, but his identity remains elusive.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyEven when its storytelling occasionally falters, the visual power of Thornton’s gorgeous compositions — in the monastery’s chiaroscuro interiors as well as the sprawling landscapes in the northern part of South Australia, near the former mining town, Burra — remains transfixing.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawAfter some robust storytelling at the start; the film drifts into a series of images and moods which perhaps don’t deliver as much impact as intended.
- 58ColliderTherese LacsonColliderTherese LacsonWhere Thornton's narrative falters, his camerawork and directorial eye are stronger than ever.
- 58The Film StageLeonardo GoiThe Film StageLeonardo GoiBlanchett gives a committed turn as the conflicted nun, but all her emphatic exertions cannot resurrect a story that forsakes its mysticism for a calculated parable, as well-intentioned as it is turgid.
- The film never returns to the strength of its opening scene, and by the end, the spark is gone.