Cold Mountain Review

Well now we come to one of my least favorite films in recent memory, Cold Mountain is a 2003 American drama film directed by Anthony Mingella, adapted from the acclaimed novel of the same name by Charles Frazier. The film stars Nicole Kidman, Jude Law in leading roles, with Renée Zellwiger and Donald Sutherland in supporting roles. The film is about a love affair between the daughter of a pastor in North Carolina and a confederate soldier fighting in the civil war. Kidman plays Ada, afragile young woman struggling to adapt to life in a new environment, and Donald Sutherand plays her father, the reverend Monroe. Jude Law plays W P Inman, a deserter, and Renée Zellweger, a farmhand who comes to help Ada.

I will confess, i have read this book, well, i tried, in an adaptation of the original novel, the film succedes, it is trite, melodramatic and soppy, much like the book, however i found the whole thing to be very silly, and of little consequence. The film was directed by the late Anthony Minghella, who was perhaps one of the most erratic directors, it was he who directed the much reviled The English Patient, but who also directed The Talented Mr Ripley and Truly Madly Deeply, both fantastic movies.

Cold Mountain suffers from what i will refer to as vignette syndrome, a great number of films featuring long journeys and/or multiple storylines tend to be reduced to being simply a series of cartoonish episodes rather than a long story arc. It is important to note that Cold Mountain is a picture that features not only a long journey but also two storylines, and Minghella reduces the story to a series of cartoonish vignettes, and by the end of the movie, he goes too far trying to outdo himself to show us how horrible the war was.

The film also suffers from a lack of chemistry between it's leads, Nicole Kidman does an admirable job but there is a total lack of chemistry between her and Jude Law. The films only saving grace is Renée Zellweger, who gives a fully fleshed out performance as Ada's farmhand. The film overall just feels cold, lifeless and boring, much like the mountain itself. Rating: D-

 

Ada: What we have lost will never be returned to us. The land will not heal - too much blood. All we can do is learn from the past and make peace with it.