Review of Cold Mountain (2003) by Clinton B — 03 Dec 2008

A war tears apart new love not unlike in Ian McEwan's story "Atonement" but this time it's a more tender, delicate love of two people who are still awkward around each other. W.P. Inman (Jude Law) and Ada Monroe (Nicole Kidman) share but one kiss to last them several uncertain months apart. When they finally meet again, both are much altered from their last time together and their reunion resembles something closer to a wary confrontation. Yet, this bumpy start doesn't hinder them for too long; they are only too eager to shed as much as they can of the grim fear they have grown accustomed to in these dark times. Holed up in a wood cabin together, they hold their own private wedding ceremony with three "I marry you" proclamations. But as the evils of war and backwards thinking would have it, Inman and Ada are soon separated from each other a second and last time. Rev. Monroe's words of how his 22-month marriage was "enough for a lifetime" come to mind, but we wonder if Ada's chance at love, which lasted for less than a year, will do the same.

Ruby Thewes's (Renee Zellweger) vibrant go-getter presence and extensive farming knowledge help Ada through her periods of longing and then mourning. The last scene shows Ada, the Southern belle turned proud farm owner, busily setting the table for her daughter and the Thewes and their children. She boldly narrates, "What we have lost will never be returned to us. The land will not heal - too much blood. All we can do is learn from the past and make peace with it." Redemption is not within reach, but a rugged determination to rise above the ruins is visible in Ada's strong posture and steady gaze.

Though Kidman and Law didn't win any awards, their portrayal of a timid but passionate couple was perfect with all the half-spoken intimacies and seeking glances. The chemistry in their exchanges, awkward enough to appear unscripted, communicated all the fervor of new love without spelling it out with an overindulgence of stolen embraces. Philip Seymour Hoffman, an actor who is quickly becoming a personal favorite, added the correct amount of comic relief as the flawed Rev. Veasey with his unique appreciation of regular bowel movements and a found saw. So did Renee Zellweger and her hearty fleshing out of Ruby, but she actually won an award for her supporting role so 'nuff said there. On the other hand, Natalie Portman's small role as Sara was a conflicting result of both trivial and necessary. I could see that Minghella wanted to include her widow character to emphasize that dehumanizing effects of war devastate both sides so that soldiers can harm the very civilians they fought to protect. But I'm torn as to whether it was Sara's mousiness that made it seem like she carried less weight than the other secondary characters, or that her part of the story didn't add anything new.