Cold Mountain

Starring: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Brendan Gleeson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone
Directed by: Anthony Minghella
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Romance
Box Office: $95,636,509
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: As the possibility of relationship between a preacher's daughter, Ada(Nicole Kidman) and handyman Inman (Jude Law), the Civil War breaks out and Inman goes off to fight for the Confederacy. After her father's death, Ada struggles to survive on her own in the increasingly difficult situation the South finds itself in. Just when she is about to break, she encounters Ruby (Renee Zellweger) who helps her survive a bit longer. Weary with war, Inman deserts the army, embarking on a dangerous journey home to the woman he loves.

Review:

Tim: Cold Mountain has pretty much everything you would want in a Civil War love story. First and foremost is the epic quality of the film. Everything is presented on a grand scale with the utmost of emotion. In this film you have true love, warfare, suffering, and finally, a odyssey homeward that rivals that of the great Odysseus from Greek literature.

Cold Mountain also succeeds because it has an unbelievably amazing cast. Jude Law is working hard to place himself as THE sought after actor in Hollywood. He gives a remarkable performance here. Nicole Kidman gives one of the top five performances of her career. Before this movie, I was never sure how I felt about her as an actor. After seeing her in this role, she has completely won me over to her side. Perhaps most amazing in this film is Renee Zellweger. She swoops into the movie and immediately changes the mood of the film. She gives a high spirited and powerful performance that makes us laugh as well as cry. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and there was never any doubt that she deserved it above everyone else. The film also has an incredible supporting cast of big talent in small roles. These include Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman (who is outstanding), Giovanni Ribisi, Donald Sutherland, and others. It is almost as much fun watching to see which actor will turn up next as it is to watch the movie itself.

Cold Mountain tells a powerful love story that works hard to stick to a sense that what we are watching is believable. It does not set out to tell a Mickey Mouse story- it will show suffering and heartache and all the trouble that many Southerners suffered through during the Civil War. I applaud this film for being exactly what it is. It is a tough, funny, romantic drama set brilliantly in the Civil War. This is a good film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Alfie, The English Patient, Glory, Road to Perdition, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Jerry Maguire