Watch Cold Mountain For Free

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Better Late Then Never

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

There are so many things to enjoy and appreciate about this film. The epic historical/love story, the score, the cinematography, the broad and unique cast of characters, and wonderful performances all-around made for a very impactful film experience for me. It's not that I didn't like Nicole Kidman, it's just that prior to her work here I always thought of her as overpraised. That all changed with her performance here. It wasn't only the delivery of her lines but she also brought an intense, genuine, and robust physicality to the character that blazed with power and intensity. Jude Law and Renee Zellweger played opposite characters, one barely spoke at all (Law) and the other wouldn't stop talking (Zellweger), but both were just right here. The score, which was a combination of newly written music along with traditional American folk music and was very emotive and greatly enhanced the story. All of the supporting characters too were also very unique and memorable. Many things happen throughout this epic story of love and war, side stories and side characters, all of which vibrated with emotion and tension. I encourage you to check out Cold Mountain for yourself.

I am not a native of the southern U.S. But I know ugly Hollywood stereotyping, and insulting and frankly ignorant Southern characterizations are front and center in this movie. It was so annoying that I couldn't watch it more than 10 minutes. It's a disgrace to be called a drama; it's more of a dark comedy, but I couldn't laugh.

Inman, a soldier fighting in the Confederate army is trying to get home and reunite with his loved one, Ada. Ada is left to manage Black Cove Farm all alone after the death of her father and she has no idea what to do. Seeing Ada so lonely, Sally Swanger sends a local girl named Ruby to help Ada out with the farm. Inman goes through a dangerous and violent journey westward but had to retrace his steps when he was handed over to the Home Guard by Junior. Inman ends up meeting a nice slave who feeds him as well as provide clothing and help him draw out a map of what lies ahead. As Inman continues to wander, he meets many other people along the way who aid him on his journey. Inman soon arrives at Black Cove Farm and finds the sight of Cold Mountain. The next day he finds Ada hunting turkeys and they spend the next few days together at the Cherokee village, discussing their feelings, past experiences, and their plans for the future. Inman decides to walk north to surrender to the Federalists because the war was going to end soon. This movie really touched my heart because Inman had to go through such tough obstacles to get back to his loved one and through this we can see what people during the Civil War had to go through. The movie really absorbs the audience into the lives of the people who were away at war and those who were left behind, trying to desperately get rid of such horrible repercussions.

Why are Anthony Minghella's films so plodding? I remember seeing THE English PATIENT at cinemas back in the day and being astonished at how long it felt. Okay, TRULY MADLY DEEPLY was acceptable but still could have been shortened a little. COLD MOUNTAIN is the worst yet, as what should be a Civil War epic turns out to be a lengthy and often routine melodrama with little to recommend it.Perhaps the novel was at fault too, although as I haven't read it I can't comment. The film is told from the point of view of Jude Law, a wounded soldier whose sole purpose is to get back home to the woman he loves (Nicole Kidman). The film chronicles Law's journey throughout, so why then do we get all the needless boring scenes of Kidman pining for him back home? Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, in comes Renee Zellweger with a supposedly comedic character and proceeds to reduce it to pantomime level.There are elements to enjoy in COLD MOUNTAIN, not least the battle sequences which are well mounted. Law comes into contact with various characters as the story progresses, some of them engaging (Philip Seymour Hoffman), others less so; Ray Winstone seems particularly underdeveloped in a supporting role. But after a couple of hours or so it all gets rather repetitive, and you wish they'd just get on with it instead of dragging things out so much. The ending is particularly anticlimactic.