The star power isn’t enough to save this one.
treads the same sort of line of hokey magic realism territory. A valiant but perhaps rather mannered performance byAs the film begins, the central character—a wild and nameless Aboriginal child, played somewhat gratingly by newcomer Aswan Reid—is presented to us against the magnificent backdrop of the Australian outback, where the boy tussles with a white captor before being kidnapped and delivered to a convent, writhing and struggling in a sack.
Here, Sister Eileen has the guardianship of a gaggle of young boys, whom she looks after with the assistance of two helpers . The second world war is raging all around, enabling the eccentric Sister Eileen to establish a much more loose and unconventional establishment than could have been expected.
Every scintilla of light here is magically dappled; every shot is iridescent. The effect strived for is clearly one of awe, which will help spectators connect with the story of a supernatural, spiritual being who can transfigure reality—but that awe never materializes. An abundance of slow-mo and fade-edits, and a somewhat stiff rhythm in the edit, don’t help matters.
Blanchett, as the nun who struggles to reconcile her faith with the boy’s powers, and the example he sets, offers a sturdy performance which nevertheless feeds into the film’s weirdly old-fashioned feel. You could imagine Anne Bancroft or Katharine Hepburn in a similar role, in an early 1960s film now half-forgotten: Sister Eileen is not the mild nun you would expect, but a creature of flesh and blood, with a somewhat abrasive manner.
Blanchett is typically brisk, giving some rhythm and spontaneity to the movie’s more leaden dialogue and finding stuff with which to busy herself. She also finds comedy in the character, in a wonderful scene in which the sister shrilly leads the boys in song.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
All the Red-Carpet Looks From Day 4 of the Cannes Film FestivalIncluding Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, Elle Fanning, and more
Read more »
Cannes Film Festival Photos Day 4: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Sean Penn & MoreFrench director Romain Gavras (L) and British singer and model Dua Lipa arrive for the screening of the film Omar la Fraise (The King of Algiers) during the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 20, 2023 📸 Getty
Read more »
A Chat with Cate Blanchett at Cannes About Faking Her Own DeathBlanchett and director Warwick Thornton cheerfully discussed eradicating their identities, staring at themselves on Zoom, and Pedro Almodóvar.
Read more »
All of the New Orleans Restaurants and Bars Featured in the New Season of ‘Queer Eye’Here's all the restaurants and bars that appear on Season 7 of Queer Eye, featured in order of appearance on the show. (via EaterNOLA)
Read more »
New Braunfels school board approves hire of new district superintendentLaurelyn Arterbury, who is coming from the Leander school district, is scheduled to start her new job on May 30.
Read more »
CDC Warns of New Mpox Cases, Potential New Outbreak This Summer: ‘It’s Not Over’“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to receive reports of cases that reflect ongoing community transmission.”
Read more »