Dull with Farrell, decent without him

Rating: 5/10 (3 September 2016)

2005's THE NEW WORLD – a retelling of the Pocahontas story – has all the trappings of a masterpiece, sharing the evocative score and magnificent camera-work of Terrence Malick's previous film, THE THIN RED LINE. Unfortunately it's a flawed masterpiece, one that suffers from the director's penchant for long scenes that verge on boredom, as characters wander in the forests and communicate without dialogue. An hour could have easily been cut from the beginning of this film to make it better paced but we're left with moments of emptiness that test the viewer's patience.
The good news is that, once Colin Farrell is out of the way, the film picks up pace and gets on with telling the actual story. In this respect the last hour of the film is by far the best. And speaking of Farrell, it's fair to say that he's definitely the worst thing in the movie; his Irish accent recurs throughout the film despite his best efforts to disguise it, and he fails to invest his character with any kind of depth. Even worse, no effort is made to hide his tattoos, which the English didn't wear until the mid-18th century. Far better is Q'Orianka Kilcher as Pocahontas; she's lovely and her spirited character is a delight. There are many supporting actors who put in VERY good performances – particularly Christian Bale, as brilliant as ever, and a little-seen Christopher Plummer as the ship's captain.
The film does well to put across a feeling of how life was for both the Native Americans and the settlers and the authenticity never comes into question. But action fans will be disappointed in the lack of battle – the one we do see is over and done with as quick as you like, and Malick is more interested in shooting the trees. Things end on a high with a particularly poignant and moving climax, and it's a shame the rest of the film never reaches this level. When Farrell's on screen, it's pretty dull; when he's off it, it's pretty decent.