Right emotions, wrong reasons

Rating: Null/10 (10 January 2004)

(since all truly great reviews don't have spoilers, I shall do my best...there is one mild one but not one that ruins the plot of the movie or anything) First off, in response to MLDinTN, I happened to like this movie, and I am a teen. No hard feelings, but there are plenty of teens who wuld enjoy this film that I know. I hate stereotypes.
Anyway, "Cold Mountain" is the tale of a Civil War "drifter" named Inman, deeply played by Jude Law, who is trying to return home to his girlfriend, played by Nicole Kidman. She, in turn, is having a hard time keeping up the farm until a "friend" (wink, wink) comes along, played by Renee Zellweger.

The problem with this movie is one that has oft been repeated; it wants to be a romance, but based on what? There is a more budding relationship between Ada Monroe- Kidman's character- and Ruby Thewes- played by Z-money. Inman and Ada only knwe each other for, in Ada's words, "a few moments", but a deep romance is supposed to spring from that? Before the war, he was distant towards her, yet for some reason, she wrote him numerous letters in which she poured out her heart? Sorry, sister, I'm not buying it.
This happens numerous other times in the movie, too- in the beginning, when Inman is fighting in the muddy, violent hole battle and two of his friends get killed, we're supposed to care? The characters in this film were not developed enough; we didn't know enough about them. We care for Inman at the end of the movie not because of his love with Ada, but because of what he went through to see her. Of course, one could argue that that's a plus because we do care for him; whenever something bad happens to him, we feel it, and whenever something goes his way, we feel happy for him.
An interesting development in this movie could have been the relationship between Ruby and her father, at once estranged and emotional. (spoiler time) When her father is shot, at once the veil comes off Ruby as she races to her father's side. Too bad this relationship wasn't explored more thoroughly. Conversely, this film portrayed a stunningly accurate portrayal of Civil War life that is too often overlooked by history books. Single-room wooden huts were the norm back then. The settings are very authentic, and the battle scenes accomplish the rare feat of capturing much action without seeming confusing and all over the place- like what happened in Return of the King.
Overall, wait for this to come out on video. The only reason to pay 8 bucks to see it on the big screen is to witness a few sprawling shots of the settings. *** out of ****