Cold Mountain (2003)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Anthony Minghella

Writers (WGA):

Charles Frazier (book)
Anthony Minghella (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 December 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Find your way home

Plot:

In the waning days of the American Civil War, a wounded soldier (Law) embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart (Kidman). Based on the novel by Charles Frazier.

Plot Keywords:

Encounter | Battle | Desertion | Female Nudity | Tragic Romance

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 13 wins & 61 nominations

Cast

Jude Law	...	Inman
Nicole Kidman	...	Ada Monroe
Renée Zellweger	...	Ruby Thewes
Eileen Atkins	...	Maddy
Brendan Gleeson	...	Stobrod Thewes
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Reverend Veasey
Natalie Portman	...	Sara
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Junior
Donald Sutherland	...	Reverend Monroe
Ray Winstone	...	Teague
Kathy Baker	...	Sally Swanger
James Gammon	...	Esco Swanger
Charlie Hunnam	...	Bosie
Jack White	...	Georgia
Ethan Suplee	...	Pangle

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

154 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #40383) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Australia:M (TV rating) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Sweden:11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Italy:T | Japan:R-15 | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Carpathian Mountains, Romania

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Natalie Portman originally auditioned for the part of Ada.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Inman is walking by the lake, you can see his tracks from previous takes.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ada: [voiceover] Dear Mr. Inman, I began by counting the days, then the months. I don't count on anything anymore except the hope that you will return, and the silent fear that in the years since we saw each other, this war, this awful war, will have changed us both beyond all reckoning.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Goedemorgen Nederland: (2004-02-19)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

The Cuckoo

Epic Tragic Romance

Minghella's Cold Mountain is a long one - over two and one half hours - and it delivers on all cylinders. It's a love story cast in the classic 'epic love story' mold.

The acting cast are impeccable and impressive: Kidman, Law, Zellwegger, Hoffman, Gammon, Gleeson, Ribisi, Sutherland, Winstone, Baker, Portman - and an assortment of mostly English to round things out.

That gives reason to pause: this is a movie about the US civil war with a mostly non-US cast and filmed in Romania. That's reason to pause and ponder.

It's an intriguing tale, very bloody at times, and it's not hard to see where it's going, but its obviousness does not deter. It has its requisite 'stacked deck' and it's not hard to see where the final comeuppance there is going to be either.

But in movies such as this such comeuppance is not without its price. This might be a love story, but it's also a tragic love story, and so even the scenes the audience long for must be tainted with sorrow.

Alison Krauss sings a couple of tunes for the soundtrack, one of which is composed by G Sumner.

Kidman is hardly my favourite actress or personality yet she shines here. Although she doesn't have all the classic features, Seale knew how to grasp what she has. If anyone stands out above their colleagues it is Renee who deservedly won an Oscar for her performance. But they're all good. And Law is an excellent counterpoint. And there are so many good anti-war quips in this bloody drama it's not funny.

Watch for a punk rocker singing hillbilly tunes.

Well made and infinitely more sympathetic than The English Patient from which it seems to derive theme and substance, but is it a keeper? Something to have on the DVD shelf?

That's another question entirely. You might appreciate it and enjoy it but it's likely you won't want to buy it.