Edge of the World

"The true story that inspired The Man Who Would Be King"

2021 1h 41m EN

😐

5.3

MID

★5.3TMDB · 91

DramaAdventureHistory

Synopsis

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Sarawak, in the northeast of the island of Borneo, 1839. Almost by chance, the British adventurer James Brooke is appointed rajah by the Sultan of Brunei, and as an independent ruler he embarks on a personal crusade to eradicate piracy, slavery and headhunting, while trying to curb the malevolent expansionist ambitions of the British Empire.

“The true story that inspired The Man Who Would Be King”

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Cast

Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Sir James Brooke
Josie Ho
Madame Lim
Dominic Monaghan
Crookshank
Hannah New
Elizabeth Crookshank
Ralph Ineson
Sir Edward Beech
Bront Palarae
Pengiran Indera Mahkota
Atiqah Hasiholan
Princess Fatima
Shaheizy Sam
Subu

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Haussman
Writers: Jacqueline Feather, Rob Allyn
Languages: English
Countries: China, Malaysia, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 5 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: China, Malaysia, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Haussman, shot by Jaime Feliu-Torres. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Will Bates. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Marco Perez shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Josie Ho and Dominic Monaghan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The true story that inspired The Man Who Would Be King".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3006472 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Haussman directs. Jaime Feliu-Torres behind the camera. Will Bates scores. Marco Perez cuts. Produced in China, Malaysia, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 5 years ago.
2International production across 4 countries: China, Malaysia, United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Directed by Michael Haussman, shot by Jaime Feliu-Torres. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Will Bates. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Marco Perez shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Josie Ho and Dominic Monaghan carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The true story that inspired The Man Who Would Be King".
8IMDB entry: tt3006472 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 91 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jaime Feliu-Torres
Original score: Will Bates
Editing: Marco Perez
VFX supervisor: Peter Riel
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Edge of the World (2021)

Also by

Michael Haussman

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-11-06
★ 6/10
I used to collect coins and always remember the Sarawak ones with "J. Brooke - Rajah" on them. Well this is a story of that very man. At the height of British colonial expansion, James Brooke (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) arrives in a land terrorised by marauding pirates with Col. Cruikshank (Dominic Monaghan) and his enthusiastic young cousin Charley (Otto Farrant) where they are quickly embroiled in the political and murderous machinations of the manipulative Prince Mahkota (Bront Palarae) and of his more benign cousin Prince Badruddin (Samo Rafael). What now ensues is actually quite a decent jungle adventure that looks at just how this man, steeped in British ambitious and aspirations gradually went native. He wanted to stop the piracy and the atrocities carried out on this remote and superstitious island, but as much for the sake of the local population. Indeed history tells us, and this film illustrates quite well, that he frequently crossed the wishes of the London government and often found himself vulnerable to attack from within and overseas. JRM isn't a good actor, sorry, but here he has a stronger character to represent and he fares OK. The young Rafael also delivers well as the young prince with a much older head on his shoulders, and Hannah New is effective as the rather pompous "Elizabeth" who meets her match in the feisty princess "Fatima" (Atiqah Hasiholan). There's a bit too much dialogue and the acting, by and large, isn't really very good or natural looking, but this is an interesting story that Michael Haussman delivers efficiently rather than spectacularly to the small screen and I found it surprisingly easy to watch.

Production companies