Although I had a great desire to see Cold Mountain when it
arrived in theaters at the tail end of last year, I suspected that this
was a film I would be better off seeing in the comfort of a living room
with an eye-shielding pillow handy. I expected the Civil War epic to
contain several long and bloody battle scenes that might even require me
to leave the room. So I was pleased to discover when I watched it last
week that epic battles weren’t something I would have to worry about. My
pillow did not lie idle, however; the violence in this movie remains,
but it comes out in staccatos, displaying the enmity to be found among
those who were supposed to be on the same side of the conflict.
Nicole Kidman stars as Ada Monroe, the pampered daughter of a minister
(Donald Sutherland) who moves from socialite Charleston to the backwoods
Cold Mountain in hopes that the fresh air will do his ailing heart some
good. They settle in comfortably for a brief time before the beginning
of the war, and during this interval Ada makes the acquaintance of Inman
(Jude Law), a gentle man of quiet intensity. Though they hardly know
one another at the time of their separation, the thought of reuniting
sustains them both through the myriad trials that follow.
When
Ada’s father succumbs to a heart attack, she is left alone with a lush
estate but no money or skills to sustain it. She is reminiscent of
Shannon, her character in Far and Away, in her ineptitude when it
comes to dealing with everyday tasks, but she is kinder and less fiery
than Shannon was at the beginning of the film. She doesn’t want to be
spoiled, she’s just never had the opportunity to learn anything that
would come in handy during such a trying time. Her kindly neighbor Sally
(Kathy Baker) realizes this and sends help in the form of Ruby (Renee
Zellweger), a tough-talking tomboy with enough spirit to rouse Ada out
of her debilitating depression. Tending the farm turns out to be the
least of their worries, however, as vigilante Teague (Ray Winstone) and
his cronies terrorize the townspeople in their search for deserters and
their helpers.
Meanwhile, after receiving an injury in battle,
Inman decides to head back to Cold Mountain, moving from one
life-threatening situation to another. He takes up with a series of
characters upon whom war has also taken a great toll: Reverend Veasey
(Philip Seymour Hoffman), an adulterous pastor with far less integrity
than Inman; Maddy (Eileen Atkins), an elderly woman who takes Inman in
after discovering him badly hurt; and Sara (Natalie Portman), a fierce
and lovely young widow who gives Inman shelter for the night and is
rewarded with his aid when Yankees strike her home.
The film
follows the two main characters’ parallel storylines. The first we hear
of Ada is in a letter Inman receives from her just before battle. Her
story backtracks to the moment of her arrival in Cold Mountain, and it
takes a while to catch up. Once it does, though, she faces as much
danger in the comfort of her own home as Inman does on the run. This
film does show the cruelty of war, but on a more personal level. It
shows ordinary people trying desperately to survive – men trying to find
their way home in spite of the brutally enforced mandates against
desertion, women trying to fill the men’s shoes in their absence as food
grows scarce and villainy abounds. Time and again, cold-hearted
individuals go out of their way to destroy the lives of the decent folks
in the film, and more often than not the perpetrators are Confederates
just like the victims. The violence in the movie is no less traumatic
for its brevity, and perhaps even more shocking.
Kidman again
shows her acting chops in this film and demonstrates that she works
especially well in period pieces. Law, meanwhile, manages to pull off an
incredibly powerful performance with hardly any words at all. His
goodness and strength shine through his grimy surroundings, and when he
does open his mouth to speak, the words are always worthwhile. I confess
that I usually can’t stand Zellweger, but her spunky character is
probably the most enjoyable in the film and certainly provides a great
deal of needed levity. Baker brings a blend of motherly warmth and
sorrow to her portrayal of Sally; Sutherland, in his brief time on the
screen, is a benevolent presence bringing great insight into the
character of Ada. Other notables include Charlie Hunnam as Bosie, the
villainous young man who gleefully hunts down deserters and those
sympathetic to them, and Brendan Gleeson as Stobrad Thewes, Ruby’s
vagabond fiddle-playing father.
Speaking of fiddles, the
film’s soundtrack is lovely, featuring a great deal of folk music and
many Celtic-tinged melodies reflecting the beauty of the land and the
sorrow of the situation. Cold Mountain is hardly an uplifting
movie. In fact, I would call it quite depressing. But it does show the
strength of the human spirit in the darkest of times, and the dedication
of the cast makes it a film worth investing nearly three hours in.
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