Edge of the World

Colonial yarns like Lord Jim and The Man Who Would Be King owe much to the exploits of the English soldier-cum-explorer at the heart of this absorbing true-life tale. Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars as Sir James Brooke, who arrives in Borneo in 1839 as a naturalist, but is then drawn into battling pirates, slavers and head-hunters on his way to ascending the throne of Sarawak. Brooke appears to be a progressive figure, eager to rule over an egalitarian society and opposing assimilation into the British Empire, much to the chagrin of army pal Arthur (Dominic Monaghan). Michael Haussman's film is more a meditation on Britain's imperial past than a tale of derring-do, and there are some dramatic lulls. Nevertheless, it is beautifully shot in authentic locations, and Meyers's Apocalypse Now-like narration illuminates Brooke's struggle to balance the staggering beauty and the bloody savagery of his private kingdom.