Film Review: The New World (2005) B

Date Viewed: 6/2/06
Venue: DVD

Director Terrence Malick loves grass. Not the kind you smoke, but the unmanicured kind you wade through in wild, overgrown fields. Next time you watch one of his films, count how many times he cuts to grass. I'm betting it's at least a dozen.

There's lots of grass in The New World, Malick's telling of the oft-told Pocahontas/John Smith colonial love story. The grass symbolizes many things; the freedom of the new world, the gentle, untamed spirit of Native Americans, and most importantly, the nature of love itself.

Colin Farrell plays Smith, who comes to America to establish the Jamestown colony. Things are harsh for the colonists, and Smith communes with the 'naturals' to better learn their intentions towards the white man and to learn how to survive in their new home. Smith is enraptured by the playful, innocent Pocahontas (Q'Orianka Kilcher).

The two enjoy many simple, playful, mostly silent, (and extremely chaste) romantic scenes together before the colonists and naturals go to war. Smith is ordered on an expedition and Pocahontas, cast out as a traitor, must live with the colonists.

From this point forward, this is Q'Orianka Kilcher's film. Before, we dealt with Smith's anguish over a love-that-could-never-be, but now it's up to her to carry onward an austere tale of an outsider and her unrequited love.

The performances are strong all-around, but only once Kilcher becomes our sole focus does the film feel fully realized. This is her story, and Q'Orianka Kilcher (born in 1990, btw...how's that for historical age accuracy?) makes it happen. She's a treat to watch.

The New World utilizes visual metaphor and some well-placed inner-voice narration to convey not only the story, but the subtext as well. Not for those craving a popcorn flick, but an open mind will be rewarded.

There's a scene in England late in the film amidst a sea of well-manicured and landscaped grounds, a direct contrast to the wilderness seen in the new world. Not much is said between the two characters in that scene, but the grass behind them betrays their feelings. Touches like that make the The New World a fine piece of cinema.