Cold Mountain

Rating: 7/10 (30 September 2004)

Inman is a laborer living in Cold Mountain, North Carolina. He is a quiet man, content with his life of solitude. When Ada and her minister father move into Cold Mountain, he is instantly smitten. Ada is immediately attracted to Innman as well, and after only a few meetings they have fallen madly in love with each other.
But they never get a chance to form a real relationship, because Inman is soon sent off to fight in the Civil War.Inman is gone for several years, and Ada continues to hope for his return and send him letters. While in a hospital bed, Inman receives a letter from Ada; "If you are fighting," it reads, "quit fighting. If you are marching, quit marching. Come back to me."
And Inman does - he gets out of his bed, and sneaks away in the night, heading back to Cold Mountain. He treks through the wilderness, avoiding the army (he is a deserter, after all) and running into several interesting characters, including an adulterous preacher and a widowed mother. Ada, meanwhile, is having trouble maintaining the farm after the death of her father.
So Ruby Thewes, a strong-willed southern woman, is sent to help out. Upon arriving, the first thing Ruby does (other than berate Ada), is rip the head off of a troublesome rooster. Soon, the farm is nearing its former glory. But not all is well. The head of the local "home guards" has his eye on Ada and her land.
Things continue to get worse when Ruby's father, another deserter, and his band of musicians (including a surprisingly good Jack White, of the "White Stripes") show up for a visit. Everything soon falls apart, but soon things begin to look good for Ada. With Inman on his journey home, with Ada tending to her land, at times things will look dim.
The acting in the film is superb. Notably Renee. She received an Oscar, and rightfully so. Jude Law's performance is also Oscar worthy. Kidman's how ever is nothing special, as usual. Cold Mountain has "epic" written all over it. Although, I didn't get that feeling with it. It is a good movie. Don't get me wrong. I didn't want to see it. (Long story).
What makes the film fall short of perfection is that it at times drifts away from Inmans quest. Making it confusing, and sometimes annoying. It looses focus quickly on Inman's quest, his journey home and that hurts the film. It relies too much on supporting characters. By supporting I mean characters that last no more than 5-10 minutes. No importance really to a good portion of them.
***1/2/*****