Movie Review

The New World

The New World is one of those sedated period piece romances in which the characters are so seriously in love that they can't help but look completely bored. The characters are John Smith (Colin Farrell) and Indian princess Pocahontas (Q'Orianka Kilcher). Smith and his fellow English settlers have landed in Jamestown, where they proceed to cut down the trees in order to set up their camp. Relations with the island's natives begin peacefully but quickly turn foul when the settlers refuse to leave. Powhatan (August Schellenberg) considers the settlers a plague, only wanting more and more of his native land. His daughter, Pocahontas, feels that things can be learned from these new visitors. When Smith is captured, she saves his life, connecting herself to him in order to speak and learn the ways of the English. As the settlers are faced with starvation and disease, she brings them food and aid, which forces her own father to disown her. War soon breaks out between the natives and the settlers.

Director Terrence Malick's film looks great, with a keen eye for detail. The make-up, costume design, peaceful view of nature and the authentic Native American customs seem to leap off the screen. Only the leaping stops here. Like many period pieces, this movie is slow, which wouldn't matter if it weren't lifeless also. The characters here are given no development at all. They are just plunged into a continuing conflict where all settlers seem to be pathetic and disgusting, and all Indians appear to be whooping and hollering maniacs. And at the end of the conflict, there is another hour or so where characters marry, go to England, and die. Nothing really happens to them that warrants much interest.

Of course at the forefront is the romance of John Smith and Pocahontas, but their relationship lacks much in the way of heat. Very little dialogue is ever exchanged between the two, and much of their time together is spent laughing and running around while Smith tells us about the relationship in voiceover. You have to wonder if Kilcher's age, 14, played into the lack of feeling expressed between them. She is a decent actress however, overshadowing Farrell, and several other big name actors with an innocent and curious performance as a girl fascinated by new visitors. Only her performance is not enough to sustain the over two hour length of boredom.

Craig's Grade: C

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%