The New World Review
by Ryan Ellis (flickershows AT hotmail DOT com)February 2nd, 2006
The New World (2005)
reviewed by Ryan Ellis
January 25, 2006
When 'The New World' finally ended, I sat up straight and thought, "Well, that happened." This movie is like floating through Terrence Malick's dreams. And, apparently, his dreams are pretty, slow, and dull. He probably knows what he's after, but doesn't seem eager to let the rest of us in on it. The enigmatic writer/director should have worked in the silent era because he composes glorious images with his gliding camera and writes listless dialogue that achieves almost nothing. Had I not already known some of the historical truth about the Pocahontas story (much of which was glossed over in Disney's animated 'Pocahontas' a decade ago), I would have felt even MORE disconnected from this poorly paced mirage of sight & sound.
The best scenes are presented entirely with visuals and music. The approach of European ships on a Virginia river. The curiosity of the "Naturals" (Native Americans) towards these intimidated newcomers. The untamed vegetation in 1607 America. The meeting & courtship of Pocahontas (lovely Q'Orianka Kilcher, making a memorable debut) and John Smith (Colin Farrell). No doubt, the movie starts out fine, largely because of James Horner's unusual score (aided by some wonderful Wagner tunes) and Emmanuel Lubezki's picture-perfect cinematography. That's no surprise. Greatness in both areas is a given in a Malick film. Even the costumes and the warpaint makeup are terrific.
And it's not that there's NO story. There's just very little room for a narrative with all that visual poetry shoving it into the dirt. Malick's choice to end his story with a whimper is probably classier than going out with a big bang. True to form, he strings together a climactic portrait of babbling brooks and other treats gifted to us by Mother Nature. This is what the entire country was before we trashed it up, he's scolding us. Also, we know what the 400 years to come will mean to Native Americans and to the land they treasured more than we white folks ever have. Malick's films are always filled with this kind of imagery and---since he's only made 4 films in 22 years---perhaps he spends most of his free time getting in touch with the flowers and the trees. That's admirable. It hasn't made him a better filmmaker, though.
I'm not sure if he should be making feature length movies in the first place. He'd be an ideal director of those gigantic IMAX nature films that knock your eyes out without making you feel one way or the other about them when they're finished. When Malick needs to move 'The New World's plot along, five or ten minutes go by...tick tock, tick tock...and THEN we start finding out what the characters are thinking. The voiceover narration (spoken by Smith, Pocahontas, and then John Rolfe---who's played by Christian Bale) barely manages to enhance what we can already see for ourselves. Our two leads are in love, yet they're kept apart by circumstances beyond their control. If they're not careful, their romance might even cause violence & death.
Hey, I KNEW I'd eventually write a review of 'Brokeback Mountain'! Or could it be 'West Side Story'? 'Titantic? 'Maybe 'Romeo And Juliet'? Or a hundred others. No doubt, 'The New World' isn't original in presenting its main theme. Rolfe enters the scene once Smith is separated from his young beau (by---say it in sync now---circumstances beyond their control) and our lovely heroine is torn between her blissful memories of one man and her dull reality with another. At least the girl (and Kilcher IS a girl...she was only 14 during the shoot) is able to sell how in love she is in a PG sort of way. Not a single naughty body part is exposed. Still, despite the supposed passion, there's no sex. Film regulations about nude scenes with underaged actors aside, Kilcher is a gorgeous girl and she even upstages all of her more experienced co-stars.
Indeed, Bale and Christopher Plummer have almost nothing to do. Colin Farrell doesn't seem to have a solid footing in a movie that has his name above the title. At least he looks the part more than he did in *chortle* 'Alexander'. He's just doesn't seem very conflicted for a guy who's made friends with the so-called savages and still wants to remain loyal to his countrymen. At least Malick doesn't forget about him. The Naturals seem to just disappear from the story after a while. They fight for the claim to this swamp for years (using their primitive weapons against guns and cannons in various bloodless battles), then they retreat when it's apparent they're no match for the paleskinned soldiers who are determined to establish a colony. The irony of this determination is that the Europeans barely survive the harsh winters. It's only through the generosity of Pocahontas and her people (who provide supplies to those who, ironically, probably wouldn't return the favour if roles were reversed) that they don't freeze or starve to death.
However, it must be said that this movie takes an interesting slant at the outset. The inherent need for white men to shock & awe those they consider inferior isn't immediate. Plummer (who plays Captain Christopher Newport, leader of the invaders) makes it clear that they aren't looking for trouble. He wants to set up camp, build a settlement, and avoid violent entanglements with the people who already live in what will come to be called Jamestown. That's a nice touch. Then again, when push comes to push harder, those with the mightiest weapons tend to win. That's just as true now as it was 400 years ago. Nevertheless, it feels right that these newcomers didn't come over to this land with bloodlust. That came later.
But there's no room for those interesting subplots to develop properly in 'The New World'. Geez, there's hardly any room for the MAIN plot. The story that is here focuses intently on Pocahontas, that little Indian teenager eventually christened Rebecca (although never actually called by her real name, for some reason). Heck, she's just this side of perfect. She and her inexplicably perfect command of the English language. (John Smith is a marvelous tutor, I guess.) Her perfect fingernails. Her perfect naivete. And her perfect symbiosis with the land and the water and the sun and the sky. If she had filmed her own story, it might have looked a lot like this one. Then again, not even Pocahontas had as much overwhelming reverence for nature as Terrence Malick.
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
