The New World
This weekend I saw Terrence Malik’s The New World, starring Colin Farrell and introducing Q’Orianka Kilcher (oh, yes, she is Jewel’s cousin). I guess going into the movie I had an expectation from the movie title and the preview that it would be “a Terrence Malick-scripted drama about explorer John Smith and the clash between Native Americans and English settlers in the 17th century.” In reality, it’s more about Pocahontas and her story. When I realized this, I balked at the title choice a little, but it still fits, especially when you think of her trip to England as a new world for her.
The movie is pretty and very subtle. He uses a considerable amount of voiceover to communicate feelings and impressions of the characters because so much of the movie is told nonverbally (the name Pocahontas, for example, is never spoken). It’s slow but deliberate. Colin Farrell is amazingly restrained, Q’Orianka Kilcher is dead on, and Christian Bale is appropriately an afterthought.
It was enjoyable, but you could probably wait on this one.
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