Cold Mountain Review

by Mark O'Hara (mwohara AT hotmail DOT com)
January 5th, 2004

Cold Mountain (2003)

Books like Charles Frazier's "Cold Mountain" stay with you. My family watched Anthony Minghella's new film last night, Christmas of 2003, and I recalled when some of us had first read the novel. Though I believed it was around three years ago, a peek onto the title page told me I had started it on Christmas Day, 1997. So, it was six years. Well, the book is still fresh in my mind...

What about Minghella's adaptation? One aspect in which he and his screenplay follow the book closely is the premise. Although the novel starts with the protagonist Inman (reminiscent of "Everyman") already wounded in the neck and languishing in a Confederate hospital ward - and the film begins with part of a battle and a raid in which Inman clearly demonstrates his bravery - the genres come together with Inman's long walk home across war-ravaged North Carolina. Chapters and scenes alternately feature Inman's dangerous trek toward his Blue Ridge home soil and Ada Monroe's endeavors to hold down the farm at the foot of Cold Mountain. She's the reason he's deserted; Minghella does nice work with Nicole Kidman as Ada, as she composes letters longing for the presence of Inman (Jude Law), whom she actually does not know well. What a clever device: we witness the two falling further in love through their memories of each other, whether real or fabricated. Both novelist and filmmaker take advantage of this romantic seed as the plot takes root and grows about the characters.

Minghella makes remarkable use of his cinematic art: his text is visual and not written, and he means to exploit it. This director is fascinated by water imagery, as we see in "The English Patient" (even though it may be in waves of sand) as well as in "Mountain" at the start and finish. In a scene not appearing in the novel, Ada follows a superstition and peers into a mirror at the well water below, a vantage supposed to bring the watcher a vision of the future. What she glimpses takes away her breath and ours. Indeed, we are treated to gorgeous vistas throughout the film. Even though my chauvinism makes it hard to admit, the landscape of Romania stands in well for North Carolina. I would like to have seen more long shots of Blue Ridge Appalachia, though. Only once can I remember Inman gazing across the snow-capped hills, the layered frame resembling the book cover. (I get the feeling we need more shots of Inman scrounging for food, walking endlessly across forests and farmland; his return home takes months, not days...)
The script is smart in so many ways. Most importantly, it telegraphs the sensibilities of Victorian times. Civilized people would not have acted in certain ways, and in this picture they don't. Especially in the scenes in which Inman and Ada get to pick up their relationship, they articulate their agonies and come to an understanding with quickness. Throughout, the dialog is natural and believable.

Part of the reality comes, of course, from the strong acting. Jude Law can disappear into any character he plays. It's tough to imagine he's the same actor in Minghella's "The Talented Mr. Ripley." In "Cold Mountain," Law's Inman is unassuming and stolid in his integrity and sense of justice - astounding when one considers the hellish moments he has survived in war and war-time social life. His counterpart, Nicole Kidman, is equally effective; she conveys a somewhat detached superiority at first, only to grow earnest when her incompetence at outdoors life is exposed. And the character that shows Ada how to farm? Ruby Thewes is played by Renee Zellweger, who succeeds in the role because of a take-charge aggressiveness. The part is all mine, she seems to announce, and she does portray well the rascally but sincere nature of Ruby. Zellweger's nice teeth do get in the way, though, and her skin is a little too flawless. The supporting cast play smoothly, particularly Brendan Gleeson as Stobrod Thewes, and Natalie Portman (who has finally shown me her talent) as the desperate Sara. The episodic narrative also has time in its 155 minutes to draw compelling roles from Philip Seymour Hoffman as the depraved minister Veasey, and Giovanni Ribisi as the more depraved Junior.

Although he has little time in which to do it, Minghella cuts another facet into the film: female bonding. Ada and Ruby read "Wuthering Heights" as Ruby passes the months waiting for Inman, and Sally (Kathy Baker) joins them. All three are recovering from devastating losses, and their comfort of each other is touching, albeit a tad overdone in a scene in which Ada plants kisses on their cheeks.

The soundtrack to "Cold Mountain" should sell well, especially since it showcases mountain music, some bluegrass and a down-home rhythmic hymn. I was not overly impressed, though, as I have heard better on the CDs for "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and especially "Songcatcher." Jack White from the rock group The White Stripes plays the role of Georgia, one of Stobrod's army-evading musicians. It's disappointing that the producers did not attract more recognizable voices, even if some songs ended up only on the soundtrack.

"Cold Mountain" the movie is a fascinating hybrid. War and love, treachery and friendship, sin and redemption, death and rebirth - so many thematic ideas sound and resound in the narrative. This is one of the better adaptations into film of a recent American novel (and National Book Award winner). It's a must-see for Civil War buffs, if only for the exploration of the home guard, a little-taught - and here a frightening - segment of life in 1864 North Carolina. I have so far hesitated to teach the book in my high school English classes, as one scene might make some parents object. (I have been using Michael Shaara's "The Killer Angels", a factual piece of fiction not quite as powerful as "Cold Mountain.") In any case, if you see the film, resolve also to read the novel. I have now been teaching long enough to notice the erosion of literacy rates and verbal scores on standardized tests - due largely to students who have been coerced into reading certain texts, and who therefore rebel and revert to playing more video games than ever. Think of it as the slickest of advertising packages! See the Hollywood movie! Read the best-selling book! You be one to judge which stays with you longer!

More on 'Cold Mountain'...


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