The New World (2005)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
John Smith	Colin Farrell	½
Pocahontas	Q'Orianka Kilcher
John Rolfe	Christian Bale
Captain Christopher Newport	Christopher Plummer	½
Powhatan	August Schellenberg	½
Opechancanough	Wes Studi
Captain Edward Wingfield	David Thewlis
Savage	John Savage
Selway	Noah Taylor
Ben	Ben Mendelsohn

Review

Moody, photographic and delicate, but also detached and introverted. Terrence Mallck's direction is pompous and arrogant, but what can you expect from a filmmaker who on average makes a film every ten years. Not particularly appropriately entitled, The New World is simply a love story, depicting the famous John Smith/Pocahontas/John Rolfe love triangle. Having been given a treatment by Disney in the 90s, the story is now ostensibly revitalized by Malick, who wants amore realistic approach. Still, the tale is very much based on myth, and hence the grand monologues by our three protagonists come off as pretentious. Malick is at his best in a few dwelling, romanticized scenes early on, but his narrative can't justify his slow pacing, and once introduced, the Christian Bale character is never allowed to establish himself properly, making the film's final third tedious. Ultimately, I found myself wishing for a film that was actually about the new world.