Waiting for the Barbarians

Despite a strong cast, this is really rather a dirge of a watch. Sir Mark Rylance is the colonial magistrate in a frontier province that inspecting "Col. Joll" (Johnny Depp) believes is about to bear the brunt of an attack from the eponymous enemy. Despite there only appearing to be sheep farmers adjacent to their fortified town, he proceeds to indulge in a little torture before heading off to investigate some more. Meantime, the decently-minded official sets off on a tour of his own which, upon his return, finds him also at the mercy of the rather brutal colonel and his henchman "Mandel" (an underwhelming, as usual, Robert Pattinson). The first half hour or so make for a watchable enough drama, but thereafter it really does run out of steam. Sir Mark's character is noble, but insipid and weak and Depp looks as if he has spent the last few days sucking on Botox sweets. Not that I needed anyone to be Errol Flynn, but the whole film adopts that same slow and ponderous pace that though quite horrifying in it's message - and doubtless a plausible indictment of just how occupying powers made sure they stayed dominant - it all just trudges along until a denouement that rather summed the whole thing up. What, exactly, was the point? The photography shows off the scenery to good effect but otherwise this is a film that promised much but delivered very little.