Fine film

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2004)

Many, many comments here. Some good, many bad. Zellweger steals the show. All the drama and intensity of this civil war odyssey aside wherein returning Odysseus too falls in the wasteland, Renee is simply wonderful. Her perkiness reminds me of an early Shirley Maclaine with the refreshing honesty and simplicity without dumbing it up. Some fine contrasts between the social classes wherein Belles were raised to be Belles and farm girls were raised to be tough. The mindlessness and dehumanizing aspects of war are also clearly made, especially relevant in today's context [one hopes that this film will be shown at the White House...and understood there!]. Fine performances from Kidman and Jude, Hoffman and Sutherland...indeed, all give their best. The corruption of the local Homeguard is often overlooked and it was a fine point to make. The outstanding message seems to be that there was not a hell of a lot of romance in killing each other during the Civil War. Hopefully, this message will be understood as being just as relevant today as it was then.