"Cold Mountain"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ****1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Jude Law as INMAN Nicole Kidman as ADA MONROE Renee Zellweger as RUBY THEWES Brendan Gleeson as STOBROD THEWES Philip Seymour Hoffman as REVEREND VEASEY Natalie Portman as SARA Donald Sutherland as REVEREND MONROE Ray Winstone as TEAGUE Kathy Baker as SALLY SWANGER Rated R Studio: Miramax Directed by: Anthony Minghella Back to DVD Review Home |
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Because of all the hubbub that “Cold Mountain” received at this year’s Academy Awards - at least in the nomination process - a lot of folks have asked me what I thought of the film. And here’s my inevitable response: I thought it was a decent movie when I watched it, but if I were to watch it again, I’d probably hate it.
That doesn’t make it a bad movie, per se. It’s just not my cup of tea. A lot of this taste comes from the characters because arguably director Anthony Minghella employs some of the best of the best when it comes to cinematography, set design, costuming and everything else.
But Minghella has an attraction to weak characters, in my opinion. In many ways, he reminds me of Mike Figgis in his directing choices. Watch any Mike Figgis movie, and you’ve find it populated with unseemly characters that you really don’t care about. Minghella has a similar way of presenting his characters in his films (although they aren’t nearly as flawed as they are in a Figgis film).
While in “Cold Mountain,” Ada (Nicole Kidman) and Inman (Jude Law) are meant to be the next Rhett and Scarlet, I just don’t see the connection. It’s not that the acting’s bad, although it’s not Kidman’s best performance. Jude Law does a fine job portraying Inman. I have no beef with his performance. I just don’t think there’s much there to the character.
A better show comes from some of the supporting cast, namely Renee Zellweger, who richly deserved her Academy Award she won for this film. The almost-always excellent Brendan Gleeson also turns out a mighty performance as her father.
Part of the charm of Minghella’s last major film, “The Talented Mr. Ripley” is that you’re presented with a bunch of aimless, worthless individuals, so I wasn’t too upset when bad things started to happen to them. It’s kind of like a Tarantino movie without the tricked-out pop culture references and funky soundtrack. But this doesn’t quite work for “Cold Mountain.” I kept wanting to like the characters, but I didn’t find them all that appealing.
But still, this is a better Southern Civil War movie than last year’s atrocious “Gods and Generals.” Of course, you don’t see much of the war, but you’re barraged with plenty of “war is hell” messages. In this film, Inman is a soldier during the long days of the Civil War. After witnessing a bloody battle and getting wounded, he becomes a deserter, walking the long way home to meet Ada, a woman he barely knows but has fallen in love with.
Not being up on my Civil War history, I don’t know how accurate the film is in portraying the frequency of desertion and the presence and duty of the villainous Home Guard in the South. However, some of the situations presented are disturbing and brutal more for the sake of characterizing the bad guys than trying to show how things really were. I’ve never been a fan of brutality for brutality’s sake when it comes to film, and while Ray Winstone does a fine job as the main bad guy Teague, he’s boiling over with frontier evil.
The DVD itself is superb, featuring two separate discs. The first disc is just the movie and an in-depth commentary by Anthony Minghella and editor Walter Murch. Minghella gives a great insightful commentary, but since I find myself cold on his films it wasn’t that great for me. But a history buff or Minghella fan will love it.
The second disc contains a number of deleted scenes, two scenes of storyboard comparisons and trailers. There are also some of the best behind-the-scenes and supplemental featurettes that I’ve seen in a while. Included are “Climbing Cold Mountain” and “A Journey to Cold Mountain” to show the making of the film. You’ll also find a “Sacred Harp History” segment that explains the background of the Sacred Harp music used in the film.
However, the best special feature by far is the “Words & Music of Cold Mountain,” a PBS-style performance at Royce Hall. This two hour event blends scenes from the film with live music by the soundtrack artists. Additionally, there is an interview with Anthony Minghella and readings from the “Cold Mountain” screenplay and other source material by some of the actors, including Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Brendan Gleeson and Kathy Baker. However, Nicole Kidman’s tight jeans and off-the-shoulder blouse are a little distracting and might take you out of the moment.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound. Widescreen (2.35:1) - Enhanced for 16x9 televisions. French language track. French and Spanish subtitles; English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
