A melodrama that matters is the best way to describe Cold Mountain, the latest film by English Patient director Anthony Minghella. Like The English Patient, itÂ’s a film of sweeping vistas, both visually and emotionally; itÂ’s an unashamed epic in the old meaning of the word.
Starting with a brutal Civil War battle scene in the bloody twilight of the American civil war, Cold Mountain is a hard film to pin down. It tells the story of separated sweethearts Inman, hard-bitten hick with a poetic heart, and Ada Monroe, society girl out in the sticks because of her fatherÂ’s deteriorating health. After a the briefest of courtships, theyÂ’re separated when Iman goes to fight, and the film chronicles the sepreate lives of people who barely know one another but are connected by love. Inman eventually deserts a dying cause, and starts a long journey to return to Cold Mountain and his lost sweetheart.
This has the potential to be a nightmare of hackneyed mawkishness, but thanks to the skill of the director and screenplay, it rises about what is undeniably an unpromising concept. This is down to the characters, particularly Inman, played with a war-weary tenderness by the ever-solid Jude Law, and Ada’s hillbilly friend Ruby, an almost unrecognisable turn by Bridget Jones’s Diary’s Renée Zellweger, who lives the part right down to the stained petticoats and flawless Southern drawl. The same cannot be said for the infuriatingly radiant Nicole Kidman’s Ada, who makes it look like L’Oreal was an essential feature of Southern ranches, but her performance, while unexceptional, is strong.
The movie is hard to pin down because youÂ’re never sure where itÂ’s going. Just when you think itÂ’s going to be the Odyssey of InmanÂ’s journey to Cold Mountain, it cuts to the story of AdaÂ’s privations in surviving alone, and the bond she forms with Ruby, further compicated by the menacing presence of a delightfully lecherous Ray Winstone as Teague, the Home Guard commander with an bloodshot eye towards the lonesome Ada. Played as a mix between Father Jack and WinstoneÂ’s recent turn as Henry VIII, he makes a suitably villainous baddie, added depth with a few telling shots from Minghella.
Visually, from AdaÂ’s vision in a wishing-well to the stunning scenery of Cold Mountain, the movie is a triumph, with MinghellaÂ’s trademark breadth and sureness of touch making Cold Mountain a feast for the senses. The inevitable sex scene deserves mention for being genuinely sensual and explicit without ever verging on gratuitous. ItÂ’s nearly impossible to capture anything more than two writhing bodies on screen, yet Minghella brings out the passion and intensity of making love in the true sense of the words.
The two plot strands are well balanced throughout the long (155 minute) running time, which moves at a slow but never lazy pace, using its length to great effect in painting a myriad of great character moments through the course of the protagonistÂ’s very different journeys. The denourmont is in the tradition of all the best melodrama, and unlike the recent Return of the King, is a fitting end to an epic tale.
It has its flaws certainly; the civil war section is over too quickly, and I would have liked to see more of the Home Guard, particularly the Albino gunrunner who plays such a striking impression with a fraction of screen time. Neither do you really believe Nicole Kidman, good as she is, is anything other than Nicole Kidman adding a few more zeros to her bank balance, but in the scheme of things these are minor quibbles. The film gripped me from start to finish, and I found myself immersed in the world Minghella has created, as I did in The English Patient. ItÂ’s not for everyone, but it is a fine piece of cinema, and if an old school epic is your thing, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
(Edited by Byron 25/04/2006 21:59)
Starting with a brutal Civil War battle scene in the bloody twilight of the American civil war, Cold Mountain is a hard film to pin down. It tells the story of separated sweethearts Inman, hard-bitten hick with a poetic heart, and Ada Monroe, society girl out in the sticks because of her fatherÂ’s deteriorating health. After a the briefest of courtships, theyÂ’re separated when Iman goes to fight, and the film chronicles the sepreate lives of people who barely know one another but are connected by love. Inman eventually deserts a dying cause, and starts a long journey to return to Cold Mountain and his lost sweetheart.
This has the potential to be a nightmare of hackneyed mawkishness, but thanks to the skill of the director and screenplay, it rises about what is undeniably an unpromising concept. This is down to the characters, particularly Inman, played with a war-weary tenderness by the ever-solid Jude Law, and Ada’s hillbilly friend Ruby, an almost unrecognisable turn by Bridget Jones’s Diary’s Renée Zellweger, who lives the part right down to the stained petticoats and flawless Southern drawl. The same cannot be said for the infuriatingly radiant Nicole Kidman’s Ada, who makes it look like L’Oreal was an essential feature of Southern ranches, but her performance, while unexceptional, is strong.
The movie is hard to pin down because youÂ’re never sure where itÂ’s going. Just when you think itÂ’s going to be the Odyssey of InmanÂ’s journey to Cold Mountain, it cuts to the story of AdaÂ’s privations in surviving alone, and the bond she forms with Ruby, further compicated by the menacing presence of a delightfully lecherous Ray Winstone as Teague, the Home Guard commander with an bloodshot eye towards the lonesome Ada. Played as a mix between Father Jack and WinstoneÂ’s recent turn as Henry VIII, he makes a suitably villainous baddie, added depth with a few telling shots from Minghella.
Visually, from AdaÂ’s vision in a wishing-well to the stunning scenery of Cold Mountain, the movie is a triumph, with MinghellaÂ’s trademark breadth and sureness of touch making Cold Mountain a feast for the senses. The inevitable sex scene deserves mention for being genuinely sensual and explicit without ever verging on gratuitous. ItÂ’s nearly impossible to capture anything more than two writhing bodies on screen, yet Minghella brings out the passion and intensity of making love in the true sense of the words.
The two plot strands are well balanced throughout the long (155 minute) running time, which moves at a slow but never lazy pace, using its length to great effect in painting a myriad of great character moments through the course of the protagonistÂ’s very different journeys. The denourmont is in the tradition of all the best melodrama, and unlike the recent Return of the King, is a fitting end to an epic tale.
It has its flaws certainly; the civil war section is over too quickly, and I would have liked to see more of the Home Guard, particularly the Albino gunrunner who plays such a striking impression with a fraction of screen time. Neither do you really believe Nicole Kidman, good as she is, is anything other than Nicole Kidman adding a few more zeros to her bank balance, but in the scheme of things these are minor quibbles. The film gripped me from start to finish, and I found myself immersed in the world Minghella has created, as I did in The English Patient. ItÂ’s not for everyone, but it is a fine piece of cinema, and if an old school epic is your thing, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
(Edited by Byron 25/04/2006 21:59)