savage and cynical

Rating: Null/10 (18 January 2004)

I felt this movie might have somewhat conveyed the horror of the Civil War. Not only the famous battles themselves, but the sinister vigilantes known as the Home Guard, and the devastation to women and children left widowed and fatherless in a low-tech time when life demanded heavy physical work for survival. The early battle scenes were powerful, graphically showing the carnage, chaos, and stupidity of a war that young men on both sides charged into with flags, fervor, and bravado. Director Minghella takes us down into the pits of mud and blood as countless lives are ground into oblivion. The movie is beautifully photographed throughout, but some of the situations are preposterous, and a transparent grab for recognition during the awards season. Renee Zellweger's character was entertaining to me, with only the quibble that I couldn't understand some of her dialogue. It seemed a stretch to me that Ada and Inman could have such a monumental devotion to getting back together after a handful of words and one kiss. My biggest complaint was how Nicole Kidman's face, hair, and clothes looked in the latter parts of the movie. Come on! - she had been transformed into a hardscrabble life of no money, little food, and the incredible workload to run that large farm. Her continued polish and beauty were distractingly unbelievable. Finally, (Spoiler Alert!) I left the theater feeling bummed out that, after cheating death so many times throughout the story, Inman is done in by one of the Home Guard scum. I would have liked to see him survive to parent his child and work the farm after the war. I suppose the source book dictated otherwise, though. Overall, fairly entertaining, beautiful to look at, but too long, and too unbelievable.