‘Edge of the World’ Movie Review: An Interesting and Beautifully Captured Adventure

Directed by Michael Haussman, the film is a period drama that showcases the true story of James Brooke, additionally referred to as the Rajah of Sarawak (Malaysian state). Brooke was also an inspiration for the popular story The Man Who Would Be King written by Rudyard Kipling and Joseph Conrad’s novel Lord Jim. Thus, one will understand the importance of his journey.

“Edge of the World,” is a film about a soldier and British explorer in 1840s Borneo, looks pretty suspicious like “The Man Who Would Be King” and “Lord Jim,” it’s permanently reason. It was the inspiration for both. Both Kipling and Conrad were moved by the true story of James Brooke, a former soldier within the Bengal Army who would become the role of a domain at the peak of the British people's Empire. Brooke’s family ended up ruling there for a century.

History is riddled with violence and therefore the story here isn’t any exception, though, for a story about a man fighting the tradition of beheading your enemy, there’s a definite lack of aggression for the majority of the film. Towards the beginning, we tend to witness the brutality of which the indigenous communities are capable, however, these instances fade into the background as we tend to hone in on Brooke’s journey. Haussman keeps these parts out as the way to enforce Brooke’s vision defect to the savage capacity of those among his rule, holding them back till the finale at which time bloody slaughter is spewed forth. By reigning within the violence in such a way, Haussman ensures the most impact, suddenly snapping the audience, like Brooke, out of the epicurean dreamworld in which they have been existing.

The invariably intense Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars as Brooke, a wanderer by nature who has never felt reception in Victorian England. Born in India and once a soldier, he’s seen enough to understand what he’s not searching for and so takes his inheritance and funds wild missions together with his buddies. He’s also emphatically more modern than several of his peers in terms of how he views colonialism and is fascinated by alternative cultures, not as conquests for an empire, but on their terms. Even so, he shares some opinions together with his countrymen regarding “civilizing” the more “savage” components of the native people he encounters.

This is a movie that is striving to be a classic adventurer, a lyrical mediation on exploration and identity, and a wittingly modern comment on a deplorable however vital era in world history. Not unlike Brooke’s, the ambitions were appreciatively grand. Whereas it'd not knock it out of the park, “Edge of the World” remains a very solid watch if a touch slow-going and may additionally simply inspire you to revisit some of the classics it's indebted to which is its little triumph.

A lavishly shot and thoughtfully pieced-together drama, Edge of the World, will often suffer from some pacing problems. The narrative typically languishes with nothing driving it forwards. However, Brooke’s story is fascinating enough that it manages to keep the viewer interested and once the fantastically brutal finale begins, you’ll be hooked.

Final Score – [6.8/10]
Reviewed by – Ritika Kispotta
Follow her @KispottaRitika on Twitter (https://twitter.com/KispottaRitika)