Movie Review: Cold Mountain

Stars (Out of 10): 8

One Word Summary: IMPRESSIVE

Movie Details: Cold Mountain War | Romance | Drama MPAA RATING R for violence and sexuality 155 minutes | Color USA WRITTEN BY Anthony Minghella Charles Frazier (book)   DIRECTED BY Anthony Minghella THEATRICAL RELEASE Dec 25, 2003 Relevant Sites: IMDB Official Movie Website Watch The Movie Trailers Shopping: Shop Amazon for items related to this movie. Shop for movie posters at AllPosters

"Cold Mountain" Review:

            Cold Mountain is the epic Civil War story of a North Carolina town devastated by the tragedy of war. Ada Monroe is the daughter of Cold Mountain痴 ill reverend; after the war begins they lose all the workers on their farm and soon Reverend Monroe dies. Right before the war begins she meets Inman, a carpenter and field worker, and the two fall immediately in love but are soon torn apart when Inman must fight along with all the other men of the town. During the war, Inman sees his friends and neighbors killed along with thousands of other soldiers on both sides. He survives but decides that he must escape the war and return to Cold Mountain.

            Before going to theatre I had no interest in Cold Mountain, it simply had the worst trailers and advertisements I致e ever seen for a movie of this caliber. The commercials don稚 give a clue about the plot or the sheer magnificence of this production. Cold Mountain is the owner of three award-worthy performances, one of the best plots of the year and definitely the best job of directing and cinematography in a while.

            Jude Law has yet to win an Academy Award (although he was nominated for The Talented Mr. Ripley) but another nomination is guaranteed and I believe he deserves to win for his portrayal of Inman. Law痴 performance is incredibly powerful and emotional and he shines as brightly as he has over his whole career. Nicole Kidman is (by a long shot) the best actress in Hollywood; every year she has at least one performance that marks her as an Oscar nominee, and this year will be no different. Renee Zellweger plays an incredibly obnoxious character, but if you can look past that you値l see that this is a break through performance by Zellweger (even though she was nominated last year as well).

            Cold Mountain was beautifully directed and filmed. The opening battle scene has a look that fits a painting, and one we致e never seen in a movie before (although it痴 very gruesome).  The whole film is wonderfully shot and looks stunning on screen. Anthony Minghella is an extremely accomplished director and screen writer, he directed and adapted The English Patient in 1996 and (one of my favorites) The Talented Mr. Ripley in 1999. 

            Cold Mountain is incredibly stirring and emotional; along with excellent direction this film was equally well written by Minghella. The film keeps good pace for the most part, and doesn稚 have many boring moments. The cast, the script and the effects help bring Cold Mountain to cinematic heights that are rarely found and rarely this enjoyable.

The Bottom Line is that Cold Mountain is a great film. Most truly Oscar caliber movies evoke respect from most people but not applause. This movie is so well made that its as enjoyable as it is impressive; maybe all the award season buzz puts Cold Mountain on a pedestal, but this pedestal actually holds something you really should see!