Cold Mountain | ||||
Anthony Minghella Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Eileen Atkins, Brendan Gleeson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Donald Sutherland, Ray Winstone, Kathy Baker, Charlie Hunnam 2003 |
A lavishly mounted, minutely detailed, dynamically acted romantic drama set in the Civil War era, "Cold Mountain," based on the novel by Charles Frazier, is also a dangerous odyssey for its hero. Part of the film follows the journey of wounded, disillusioned Confederate soldier Inman, who deserts his unit to reunite with his lover Ada, left to fend for herself on the home front. The rest of the story belongs to Ada, trying to hold onto her father's farm despite a parade of obstacles. Her unlikely savior might be Ruby, a nomadic, resourceful woman looking for shelter from the storms of war. Neither Jude Law as Inman nor Nicole Kidman as Ada is American, yet they handle their accents with aplomb. When together, they don't crackle with much screen-melting electricity, but the story keeps them separated for so long and they're so good playing off supporting actors Renée Zellweger, Brendan Gleeson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Natalie Portman and Giovanni Ribisi that it's a non-issue. If Zellweger is a little too "Calamity Jane" in her portrayal of Ruby, there's no faulting her spunk. Director Anthony Minghella made his mark adapting sophisticated popular fiction ("The English Patient," "The Talented Mr. Ripley") to film. His run of impressive productions continues here, even though some of the casting choices were debatable. | |||
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