Direction and acting a savior

Rating: 6/10 (5 January 2005)

Anthony Minghella is a master of the old fashioned love story. His films do not house cynicism nor bad intentions. His two previous efforts, 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' and 'The English Patient,' were so good I had them at the top of my top ten lists for their respective years. In the case of 'The English Patient,' I believe it even outdid 'Fargo.' The classic beat the absurd.
'Cold Moutain' is different, it is a long film. Not particularly its running length, which I don't surmise is much longer or shorter than 'Ripley' or 'Patient.' It is long because many of the actions in the film are not entirely that entertaining.
We start toward the end of the Civil War. At a bombed out confederate strong-hold we meet Inman, not so different from the other soldiers. It is as if by happenstance that we should immerse ourselves into his life rather than anyone else out there. Inman, we learn, has been separated from his love, Ada. Although as we soon find out, Ada and Inman hardly know each other. It was fate, or love at first sight, that brought the two together. It was bloodshed and war that tore them apart.
In ways this seems hokey, and it is. Minghella had done so well in his other films to stay away from sappy, in this one he dives right into it. As the story moves along we understand their feelings deeper, and thus some sappiness goes away, but to many it will be too heavy to bare.
Inman deserts his comrades knowing the end is coming. He is far more interested in meeting up with his Ada, though the journey will be perilous. As he leaves, the Confederate Army everywhere begins to hunt down deserters and those who let them stay on their land. Inman's journey becomes an 1860s Oddysey through the American south. Along the way he meets an amorous preacher, runaway slaves, a widow and her baby, as well as your standard country cabin full of horny women.
These stories are okay but lack any cohesiveness, it is the same problem that faced 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'. 'O Brother,' however, was an all-around better film, the pace quicker and the characters better situated. All this having been said, the guilty truth is that I liked it. I tried reading the book at least four times and could not get past the first few chapters. I figured the movie had no chance.
There is plenty wrong with it, but the gorgeous cinematography and exquisite acting made the film sweet enough to swallow. Listen to the names: Jude Law (as Inman), Nicole Kidman (as Ada), Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Natalie Portman. But above all, the year's best scene stealer was Renee Zellweger, a character straight out of the back-woods to help a bewildered and dainty Ada survive on the farm. The humor and life she brings to the film is enough to lift it from the despair of the rest.
There is enough wrong with 'Cold Mountain' to make it a bad film. It is a credit to the fine director and gifted cast that they were able to lift a diamond out of this rough. *** out of ****