Edge of the World

Edge of the World (also known as Rajah) is a 2021 adventure drama film directed by Michael Haussman and starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the British soldier and adventurer James Brooke (1803–1868), the first White Rajah of Sarawak. The film also features Atiqah Hasiholan, Dominic Monaghan, Hannah New, and Josie Ho. The script was written by Rob Allyn, who also produced the film. Edge of the World is a co-production between Malaysia, China, the US and the UK. Plot The film is based on the true story of the Rajah of Sarawak, James Brooke, who has been suggested as one of the inspirations for the Rudyard Kipling story The Man Who Would Be King, and Joseph Conrad's novel Lord Jim. Brooke was a former soldier in the Bengal Army who sailed to Borneo which was still under the control of Bruneian Sultanate in 1839, where he helped the Sultan of Brunei's governor (Pengiran Indera Mahkota, title for the governor) put down a local rebellion and took over as governor of what became the Raj of Sarawak as his own private kingdom. He was knighted by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom prior to being appointed Governor of the new Crown Colony of Labuan. Brooke's dynasty lasted three generations and spanned a century. Cast Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Sir James Brooke Atiqah Hasiholan as Princess Fatimah (Pengiran Anak Puteri Fatimah, the granddaughter of the 21st Sultan of Brunei) Dominic Monaghan as Colonel Arthur Crookshank Josie Ho as Madame Lim Hannah New as Elizabeth Crookshank Ralph Ineson as Sir Edward Beech Bront Palarae as Pengiran Indera Mahkota (Pengiran Mohammad Salleh ibnu Pengiran Sharifuddin) Samo Rafael as Pengiran Badaruddin (historically, this character may refer to Pengiran Muda Hashim or Raja Muda Hashim, the Bruneian governor of Sarawak) Otto Farrant as Charles Brooke, the nephew of James Brooke, also known as Charlie Shaheizy Sam as Subu Wan Hanafi Su as Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II, the 23rd Sultan of Brunei Peter John Jaban as Orang Kaya (Traditional Bruneian peerage title) Kahar Jini as Datu Patinggi Ali (Abang Ali bin Abang Amir) Yusuf Mahardika as Tujang, from Iban tribe, James Brooke's personal bodyguard Production Rob Allyn, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Margate House Films, was interested in filming the life of James Brooke, after being introduced to the figure through a footnote in a George MacDonald Fraser novel, which he read in 2009. More research on Brooke led him into a fixation.