A very good time period movie

Rating: 10/10 (29 November 2016)

Most Civil War movies have a tendency to overly dramatize the war scenes and ignore the day-to-day struggle of the common people caught in the middle. Not so with Cold Mountain, a movie that explores the individual lives of a preacher's daughter, her farm hand and her lover as their world spins out of control.
Renee Zellweger delivers a tremendous performance, while Nicole Kidman and Jude Law are strong in their roles as well. This is a movie about memory and destiny. The conclusion will leave you with conflicting emotions but there's satisfaction from a story well told.
I hope that producers learn from COLD MOUNTAIN and start making more era dramas that give you a connection with the characters and their times, as opposed to overly glorifying battlefield scenes. The lone battle scene in COLD MOUNTAIN was the battle of "The Crater" during the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia. It is done with attention to the facts and illustrates the battle in all it's goriness. You felt like you were right there in the thick of the smoke, dirt and blood.
The rest of the movie explores how the people of the 1860's coped with the savagery of their existence, how some remained in tune with their humanity and others devolved to murderous animals.
Just an excellent movie all the way around. I've seen it twice and will watch it again!