MovieChat Forums > The New World (2006) Discussion > Why Smith's Irish accent?

Why Smith's Irish accent?

posted 13 years ago by jre-10
33 replies | jump to latest

Smith was English, born in Lincolnshire. So why is he given an Irish accent in this movie?

Is is because American's identify his values more with the Irish than the English? Or is because it is practically impossible for an American film to be made containing a principal hero who is English?

There is a history of conflict between England and Ireland, as everyone knows, and it is a sad story as old as that of the USA. In these terms, the film has Smith swapping sides, his accent alluding to the core of his identity.

I find this inaccuracy a mischief against the history of all three countries, and because of the seriousness of this, the film was spoiled for me, and by such a simple untruth!

I wonder what others think.

[–] MovieMan57 13 years ago

Perhaps it's because Colin Farrell is Irish.

And who cares if the accent is historically inaccurate? It's a damn movie.

[–] jre-10 13 years ago

Thanks. I didn't know that and now I feel a bit silly!

I tend not to interpret films from prior knowledge of the director or cast. It should not be hard for such an actor to adopt a rural English accent of the time, for authenticity and to avoid cultural confusion.

[–] torydude 12 years ago

It's pretty hard to click on his name, and see the first few lines of info. Congrats for watching an entire movie. No clicking required seems to be the key.

[–] Consul_Incitatus 12 years ago

OK, but its a movie that tries to be historically authentic. This is not Transformers 3.

[–] mark-hansen11 12 years ago

If it was truly authentic, they'd be speaking in old english, which you wouldn't understand.

[–] Consul_Incitatus 12 years ago

Noooo, Old English is what they spoke during the Dark Ages. Think Beowulf.
If it were totally authentic, they'd speak kind of like Shakespeare - kind of hard to follow but hardly impossible. Of course if you threw in rural dialects, which even in recent times have been rather hard to understand, then audiences might be lost and you'd have to throw up subtitles. Which is what I did anyway, because Farrell's mumbling was hard to follow. Although before long I was just tuning him out anyway.

[–] D_Marais 9 years ago

if it were truly historical, pocahontas would be like 8, and smith 50+ and there would be no love story... so who cares if smith has an irish accent. it was a beautiful film

[–] cassmi87 10 years ago

Apparently you have no clue when Old English was spoken... People in the 17th century would have spoken Early Modern English.

[–] dragon_x 12 years ago

Yeah, but Transformers 3 was not very good - mostly because Michael Bay went the wrong direction with a convoluted plot (which took way to long for this type of movie) and to cap it off he added some really odd (bad) choices for music in what would otherwise be a very cool/serious/sombre scene.

Anyway, Colin Farrell had a fairly good "southern" accent in Miami Vice, but it was not all that convincing. What is impressive is to see an actor for the first time and think he or she is from "that" country or "that" region or area. I would seem Great Britian, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do all have their own accents and probably several --- as some people could say if someone sounds like they are from the "wealthy" part of London or the not so weathly (and I'm sure you Brits know more of the finer details).

In North America - at least - the accents are mostly regional, though you can get fairly specific some times - say maybe like New York accent, Boston accent, Chicago accent (though that one is harder for me to tell, since it is kind of mid-western- to me), 'southern' Accent, Creol/Louisiana accent, Bayou accent, California accent, Valley Girl (Southern California) accent, surfer 'accent' (also probably from California) and finally - the Canadian accent - egh!

And you could say the NY accent was a 'typical' Itialian American accent from the Bronx or wherever ... and the Boston accent was a typical Irish American accent from Charles Town or something.

I also see some people - in real live and in movies - mixing accents because that is how they talk - because they probably moved around when they were young - or maybe they lived in London for 3 years and pickup up a bit of THAT accent ... or maybe some Brazillian chicks that speak American english well, but go to 'fast Portuguese' when they are excited or emotional ... and yes - accents do change over time and I would wager with the TV and internet and music communications - some accents maybe become less distinctive.

So to SUM UP - I try not to let 'incorrect' accents or even languages detract from any movie I see ... but if they can nail some accent (from my point of view) then it's just a better movie.

What accents did ancient Rome speak? What about Latin and the Church? What about the Eastern Church? ... and before.

Clearly Alexander the Great was Irish! (or maybe not?).

[–] Fillumfan 11 years ago

Philadelphia has a distinct accent.

[–] tigermail-lb 11 years ago

Alexander The Great wasn't Greek (or Irish) He was Danish...he was, after all, Alexander, The Great Dane!

[–] JacintoCupboard 10 years ago

For God's sake Farrell is supposed to be an actor. What HIS native accent is, is neither here nor there.

I for one do not expect a movie to be a documentary. But I don't think we should give idiocy a free pass either.

[–] benjaminwg 9 years ago

British accents back then weren't even what they are now. Doesn't really matter to me.

[–] prototek 9 years ago

What about the innumerable times Farrel has played an American ("True Detectives" seems to be the most recent example) and manages to pull of a completely convincing American accent?

Bottom line is… I've heard plenty of Irish actors who have absolutely no problem "putting on" an English accent. Every other TV show on British television has an English character played by an Irish actor. Anyone ever heard of Aidan Gillen? Brilliant actor who just happens to have been born/bred in Dublin, yet he plays plenty of roles as an Englishman as well as an American in most of the work he does! Maybe Farrel simply didn't have the acting chops for it yet? Who knows. But I do think an English character (especially if said character is based on a non-fictional individual) should have an English accent. The argument about, "well then they should speak Old English" is rubbish. That's just splitting hairs.
Should Derek Jacobi (and the rest of the cast) have spoken Latin in I Claudius? I could go on and on. LOL!

[–] BuffySyd35 13 years ago

This has been brought up many times before actually. I have no firsthand knowledge myself, but several people were saying his accent does sound like a Lincolnshire one.

Personally his accent did not come off as Irish to me as I know accents across England sound different, sometimes very different. Granted I knew Colin Farrell was Irish, but I have head him speak in that accent and to me it did not sound the same. But again, I do not know what a Lincolnshire accent is supposed to sound like.

Not sure this really helps, but I figured I add to the conversation since I know it has come up on this board several times.

Choose...between yesterday and tomorrow. Pick one and stick with it.

[–] howard.schumann 13 years ago

Are the accents understandable or do I need to turn on English subtitles?

"Every mystery solved brings us to the threshold of a greater one" - Rachel Carson

[–] BuffySyd35 13 years ago

I could understand them just fine, but several people have come on here and said they needed to turn the subtitles on. To find out which category you fall into you will have to watch and see I guess. Sorry that is not too helpful.

Choose...between yesterday and tomorrow. Pick one and stick with it.

[–] howard.schumann 13 years ago

I watched half of it without subtitles but I was missing too much and decided to turn them on. I would personally recommend them for new viewers (if they aren't already comfortable with the accents, that is).

"Every mystery solved brings us to the threshold of a greater one" - Rachel Carson

[–] zombiefugnut 13 years ago

Its not an Irish accent its an English West Country accent.

[–] shauncoop 12 years ago

I am from Lincolnshire, and at no point does his accent sound like a Lincolnshire one (which is like a mild Northern accent).

Farrell speaks in his native Irish accent for most of the movie, then inexplicably changes to a West Country one for the later scences (when he's in England).

I like him as an actor, but that doesn't seem very professional.

[–] Liljan-2 13 years ago

it is a sad story as old as that of the USA.

Several centuries older, in fact! The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland started in 1169. People sometimes have a tendency to forget that the USA is a very young nation historically, and that even the English colonial settlement of America only started in earnest as comparatively recently as 400 years ago.

-----

When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty. - George Bernard Shaw

[–] shcript 13 years ago

Its an English West Country accent but it slips into his natural Irish accent whenever he is emotive.....angry etc

[–] stickymickysdicky 13 years ago

I am from Ireland; born, bred and live here. Colin Farrell's character in this film is Captain John Smith, "Admiral of New England", born and bred in Lincolnshire, in the East Midlands of England (that's on the EAST Coast of England, for anyone who doesn't know their English geography. Now someone suggested that Colin Farrell was trying to do an English "West County" accent, which would not be appropriate anyhow even if he was... personally I didn't hear any "Cornish" coming out in his accent. My wife and I were both laughing at his accent in this, as he just has his regular Irish (Dublin) accent. I'm not sure if he just couldn't have been arsed trying to do an English accent / couldn't do one, or if the producers of this film just said to, "Ah, sure just keep your own accent, the Americans won't know the difference anyhow"... lol.

Anyhow, long story short, Irish accent is blatant, and no attempt at an English accent shines through in the slightest, if you want an honest opinion from someone in Ireland.

Tóg go bog é.

[–] mbrinkman87 12 years ago

this movie is suppossed to be set in the 1600's ? if they would speak in actual accents and language of the time nobody would know what they would be saying so please leave the "historical inaccuracy" out of this. yes the english language did change that much over the years and to even pretend to know how it is suppossed to sound like is arrogant at best

[–] Consul_Incitatus 12 years ago

Colin Farrell spoke in an Irish accent playing Alexander the Great. Clearly accents are not his strong suit.

[–] zepha100 12 years ago

He was told to speak in his natural accent for Alexander the Great.
I also assume he was told to speak in the accent he did for this film aswell.
He is actually rather good at putting on an accent as can be seen from all the films he has to put an American accent on for.

[–] cambrinuscambrinus 8 years ago

Farrell's Irish accent marked him as a Greek outsider - other Greeks at the time considered the Macedonians semi-barbarian. So, his Irish accent fits the notion of Alexander as an outsider, first because he's a Macedonian, secondly because Alexander increasingly started to see himself as semi-divine or indeed totally divine. You know what they say about absolute power?

Directors are often cleverer than you.

[–] willjohn 7 years ago

What do you want someone playing an ancient Greek to sound like?

Did you want him to sound like a fish and chips shop owner?

[–] sibe-deux 11 years ago

http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/2047-americans-brits-accents.html

"The lofty manner of speech developed by these specialists gradually became standardized — it is officially called "Received Pronunciation" — and it spread across Britain. However, people in the north of England, Scotland and Ireland have largely maintained their traditional rhotic accents."

a.k.a. Americans and other peoples in the British Isles probably speak more like Smith then the British do now. Do not think just because the English language came from England that the English are the ones that have always stayed closest to it.

Language is like dog breeding, rich people always try to develop and make it different and 'smoother' until it turns out totally mutated from what it originally was.

[–] annlevtex 10 years ago

LOL are you saying that rich people have caused linguistic inbreeding to deleterious effect?

[–] Irishdrummer007 10 years ago

"a.k.a. Americans and other peoples in the British Isles probably speak more like Smith then the British do now"

That is true. People in England spoke with a accent that now would sound more Irish or West country. It is what is called Original Pronunciation (OP). Received Pronunciation did not start until later.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] brutuslignarius 7 years ago

English people had more Irish sounding accents back then. Think pirate talk.