A better-than-usual Miramax picture.

Rating: 5/10 (3 January 2004)

But let's not get too carried away. *Cold Mountain* emerges as a profoundly unadventurous film. It's devoid of ambiguities . . . an unforgivable thing, given the setting of the Civil War, and the subject, which is the desertion of a Confederate soldier (Jude Law) who forsakes "the Cause" in order to return home to his wallflower Southern belle (Nicole Kidman). This movie was based on a "prize-winning" novel by Charles Frazier. The story could withstand some improvement. For instance, let's make things interesting by having Jude Law be a UNION soldier. Let's challenge that multiplex audience just a bit. Because after all, the "moral problem" of this picture as it now stands -- e.g., the hero's placing of higher importance on his love-life over his country -- has been solved far in advance. OF COURSE any sensible fellow would desert the evil Confederate Army in order to get back to luminous Nicole. Nicole is a worthier cause than States Rights . . . but is she worthier than Abolition? Ah . . . now the scene would begin to cloud, a bit. And the Home Guard (who patrol the local area looking for deserters and otherwise "assisting" those who remain home), represented by an unrecognizable Ray Winstone and several other heavies, provides the audience with straw men hissable enough to leave no doubt as to the justice of Law's desertion. Or, if we must insist on keeping Law as a Confederate, why not make the Home Guard a bunch of nice old guys, rather than Winstone's murderous mercenary who also has a pecuniary interest in Kidman's property? Or, even further, why not have the women at home remain fiercely patriotic, who would consider a deserter a gutless coward? Then Law would actually have to WOO Kidman, a task he otherwise gets to avoid in this movie (apparently, his suffering baby-blues are sufficient to make the lady weak in the knees, without the demonstration of any other virtues).
But to ask for any of these possibilities is to ask too much from the likes of Miramax studio, and the wise viewer will regretfully put such considerations aside and cast about for other things to enjoy. The fundamental emptiness of *Cold Mountain* gets redeemed by a number of things, starting with Anthony Minghella's expert direction, particularly with regards to the difficult time structure in the first half. The picture is graced with astounding cinematography all the way through, but especially near the beginning during the siege of Petersburg: the gigantic pit caused by a large underground explosion, and the resultant "turkey shoot" by the Confederates after the Federals stupidly rush in, is smeared over with a dank, sulfurous haze, making the scene look like something from Hell itself. (The movie is otherwise gorgeous as hell.) And finally, a large cast of well-known faces contributes, rather than distracts: Philip Seymour Hoffman gets another opportunity to give a flashy performance; Brendan Gleeson, Kathy Baker, and Ray Winstone (despite the phoniness of his part) all provide strong support. But praise is especially deserving to two young actresses: Natalie Portman as a widow with a sick baby whom Law encounters on his trek home; and the wonderful Renee Zellweger as a sort of prototypical white-trash tomboy named Ruby. Portman surprisingly, and magnificently, aces the crucial cameo part of the desperate widow . . . and Zellweger steals the entire movie out from under everybody's feet. (Kidman knows it, and doesn't even bother to challenge Zellweger for supremacy in their scenes together.) Once Ruby is -- finally -- introduced (it takes almost an hour), the rest of the movie is basically a waiting game: we wait for the next scene with Zellweger, and become indefatigably bored with the dour young man trudging homeward. In fact, we didn't realize how bored we were with *Cold Mountain* until she shows up. It's the serio-comic performance of the year, and the "Academy" should feel free to give her a long overdue Oscar for it. She makes this otherwise dutifully anti-war picture (and hence, rightfully unpopular picture, given our current circumstances) well worth seeing.