"Come back to me is my request."

Rating: 9/10 (30 August 2018)

The opening battle scene at the siege of Petersberg is filmed in a truly epic manner. If one doesn't comprehend the very real horror of blood and guts fighting while battling the muddy elements that go along with it, those gut wrenching scenes will stay with you a long time. They serve as a chilling counterpoint to the flashback scene of jubilant Southern farm boys who couldn't wait for North Carolina to enter the war. Many of them would not make it home.
But the film isn't about the Civil war so much as one man's attempt to return to an idealistic vision of a woman he holds in his heart and mind. To do so, he must find the wherewithal to desert from the Confederate Army and undertake a grueling journey on foot to his former home at Cold Mountain. You can't really say that Inman's (Jude Law) behavior was admirable, as a deserter he would be hunted down by forces on both sides of the conflict. Yet there is something stoic about his resolve in the face of the war's inhumanity and the way it tramples on a man's dignity and self respect.
Quite honestly, even though a number of reviewers here found Renee Zellweger's character to be intolerable, I thought Ruby Thewes was a hoot and a half. As much as she was embarrassing, there was a quality of loyalty and discipline to her character that helped mold Ada Monroe (Nicole Kidman) into a more well rounded individual. For most of the story, Kidman appeared to be just a bit too glamorous given the circumstances of her life at Cold Mountain, so Zellweger provided a much needed balance. I think this might have been the first movie I ever saw Renee Zellweger in, and it's not the type of role one forgets easily.
I originally saw this film in the theater upon it's original release and hadn't gotten back to it until the other day. It still retains the drama and power of my first viewing, though for it's intense battle scenes and majestic cinematography, one's best bet is to catch it whenever possible on the big screen.