Review of The New World (2005) by Kevin K — 09 Jan 2010

This film was unlike anything I've ever seen. It employs a level of artistry and vision not seen in some time. Terrence Malick is a filmmaker I'm not very familiar with, but after seeing this film, I want to see everything he's made.

Like one of my all-time favorite films, "The Assassination of Jesse James", the film is all about nuance and subtlety, evoking a sense of poetic beauty in every frame. There is so little dialogue in the film that it's almost a silent film.

And yet, that's what adds such beauty to it. You don't watch this film, you experience it. It's intoxicating, moving over you like the waves of the tide at some deserted beach, calm and peaceful, yet unnerving when it wants to be.

The cinematography is breathtaking in it's beauty and tranquility. The use of cross-cutting here is brilliant. Lastly, there is something to be said of the three principal performances. Colin Farrell shows off his acting chops here, proving that he's not just a pretty boy by any standard.

His face tells a story of a man tortured and not at home amongst his own people. Q'Orianka Kilcher is a wonder to behold, especially at such a young age, she commands the screen every second she occupies it.

But it is Christian Bale who practically steals the show in the third act of the film. His eyes have a piercing gaze that at once is a window to his own soul and at the same time look into yours. His performance is heartbreaking and noble, tender and strong all at once.

Rolfe loves this woman, even though he knows she can't give her whole heart to him. You see it in his eyes, the way he moves, the way he smiles at her, even when she occasionally shrinks away from him.

Bale has always been a chameleon, and this is some of his best work yet. It's a shame that such a shape-shifter of an actor has never been recognized much for his brilliance. What he does here is truly heartbreaking and astonishing.

Had I seen this film earlier, it surely would have made my best of the decade list. But that's neither here nor there. Ultimately, this film is a work of art that will surely polarize viewers, but that's just fine.

Me? I find myself mesmerized by every shot, and every scene.