Both Pointless And Charmless, But It Does Have Renee Zellweger

Rating: 2/10 (5 April 2008)

Essentially, this movie could have chosen to move in one of two ways: either as a war movie, depicting the agony that the Civil War wrought upon the South and its citizens, or as a romance, depicting the agony of lovers separated by war and uncertain whether they'll ever see each other again. In the end, it tries to do both, with the emphasis being on the romance, and, in the end, I found neither part of the story - which seemed to me to jump around far too much, giving it an unfocused feel - either convincing or compelling. The challenges faced by the South are realistically portrayed, particularly with the emphasis on the "Home Guard" - a group of Southerners tasked with the job of searching down deserters and those sheltering them, and who, as the war approached its inevitable conclusion, chose to abuse their positions to satisfy their own desires rather than to fulfill their admittedly distasteful job. This part of the story was often brutal - perhaps realistically so - but it left me rather empty to be honest.
As to the romance, it struck me as both forced and artificial. Neither Ada (Nicole Kidman) nor Inman (Jude Law) came across to me as star-crossed lovers, although I suppose that the point of the movie was that it was their love for each other that gave them hope, and the strength to get through their trials. Still, neither character really connected with me. The one character I did like was Ruby (Renee Zellweger) although, to be honest, it wasn't so much the character that appealed to me as it was Zellweger playing the character. Zellweger is a fine actress who seems to be able to take on any role in any type of movie and make it work. As to Law and Kidman, neither appealed to me. Law seemed flat, and Kidman, who is a very beautiful woman, nevertheless generally underwhelms me with her performances.
For Zellweger's performance alone, 2/10