The New World

A pretty fair plot, good scenery and decent acting would normally make a good film. Alas, in this case the script is dreadful and the direction downright appalling, both the fault of Terrence Malick, and it ruins your cinema experience. Taking the montage style of editing much too far, the film is disjointed almost to the point of being nonsensical, and as far as the storyline arc goes, you could easily be forgiven for believing you had sporadically nodded off and missed some vital points. Subplots are abandoned, with almost comical results, and the occasional character completely disappears without explanation. There is disappointingly little emotion, dialogue or indeed, substance. This new frontier simply isn't worth the journey. [Graham McIntosh]