Oscar wannabe runs hot and Cold

Rating: Null/10 (22 February 2004)

Cold Mountain is Oscar Bait personified: based upon an epic bestselling novel (by Charles Frazier) with a rabid following, adapted and directed by a multiple Academy Award winner, populated by an acclaimed star cast and crew, bursting with sweeping widescreen vistas and a plot that covers love, life, death and destiny. Yep, on paper, Cold Mountain looks like this year's All-Star Oscar Team. So what's it like on screen? Well, it ain't great, but it ain't bad either. and the pedigree's to blame. This film wants to be caught in a hailstorm of Oscars so badly it shows. And as we all know, desperation is never an attractive quality, even if you are gorgeous.
With the wilds of Romania ably standing in for the Civil War-ravaged American South, the film begins with a battle that ends in a bloodbath, in which confederate soldier John Inman (Law) finds himself smack in the middle. The senseless carnage around him brings about a powerful moment of clarity, forcing him to abandon the travesty of the war and make his way home to the girl he loves, Ada (Kidman). We flash back to years earlier when Ada, a startlingly attractive southern belle, arrived in the titular farming town with her Reverend father (Donald Sutherland) to start a new life. She immediately strikes up a flame with Inman, a strong silent type if there ever was one. They begin a guarded courtship. then the War comes a-blowing. Inman enthusiastically signs up and is whisked away to the battlefield - but not before trading photographs and one passionate kiss with Ada. Months, then years, pass as Ada sends letter after letter to Inman, who is a little too busy being shot at by Yankee soldiers to reciprocate. Cold Mountain has since become a place of tragedy; a band of self-appointed `guardsmen' (led by Ray Winstone) are shooting deserters on sight, while increasing numbers of husbands and sons are confirmed dead from the front lines. Ada holds out hope for Inman, but his silence is a cause for concern. When tragedy touches Ada, she isn't equipped with the skills to maintain the family farm and it begins to decay, a situation alleviated by Ruby (Zellwegger), a rough-hewn, heart o' gold backwoods gal who kindly offers to help her out. Meanwhile, Inman embarks on an odyssey of Homerian proportions to make his way back, meeting all manner of people on the way (among them, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Giovanni Ribisi, Melora Walters, Jena Malone and an explosive Natalie Portman).
Despite various scenes of jarring brutality, this is all played out with a stately, old-school Hollywood manner and earnest intentions - a little too earnest at times. The story's episodic structure is effective, though while some vignettes are gripping, others are strictly cornball. The dialogue veers from profound to laughable and the performances are equally variable. Law is terrific, Kidman stumbles over her accent at first but manages to pull it together, and Zellwegger is charming but clearly overdoing it - but the efforts of the huge supporting cast keep you watching. John Seale's photography is stunning and Walter Murch's skillful editing makes the 155 minute journey a smooth one. It's surprisingly dark at times, shockingly cheesy at others - a real split personality of a film. I guess that's what happens when you try and mix your own Oscar-winning masterpiece: there's going to be as much Titanic as there is Lawrence of Arabia.
* * * (out of 5 stars)