Cold Mountain

Grade: B+

Filmmaker Anthony Minghella has beautifully crafted a lovely romantic melodrama.

I am not much of a fan of romantic melodramas.

With the possible exception of “The Way We Were” (“Is he a good father?” slays me every time) the suspension of disbelief required for hours of heightened dialogue, far-fetched situations and dreamy-eyed reunions asks for just too much from this moviegoer.

Unless it’s “Lord of the Rings,” of course, which is an entirely different matter altogether.

That said, anyone wanting to make such a film would be well advised to have Minghella directing and Jude Law as its romantic leading man. Minghella’s last two films, “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “The English Patient” were among the very best and most distinguished films of their years, and here too he displays a unique, passionate filmmaking style that adds sweep, glamour, and delicacy to a rather hackneyed storyline.

And as for Mr. Law, well, he’s a hunk a hunk of burning love who can melt spoons with the heat he emanates. Woof and a half.

A love torn couple separated by the American Civil War and his subsequent pilgrimage to return to her while she keeps the home fires burning is not exactly original fare, and one can’t help but look for Rhett, Scarlett, Ashley, and Melanie to be lurking somewhere in the background. What makes this film interesting, however, is that the romance itself feels altogether less important than the romantic vision our characters cling to in order to survive. Virtually the entire movie takes place with our star couple apart, and a series of back and forth episodic storylines over the course of two and a half hours lead us to the well-anticipated reunion. The fact that this story isn’t in itself terribly original makes it all the more surprising and impressive that the film still manages to move at a nice tempo with moments of genuine humor, endearing emotion, and occasional suspense amidst an oft-trod “country torn asunder” backdrop that Minghella imbues with a new and captivating cinematic eye.

Jude Law is immensely successful as a soft spoken southern country boy tormented by love and war, Nicole Kidman less so as a southern belle thrust into a life of calluses and struggle – she’s simply too glowing even with sweat on her face and dirt in her fingernails to be truly believable. Renee Zellweger steals every single scene she’s in as a determinedly feisty woman who comes to Kidman’s rescue and saves her farm from complete deterioration – she gives the film much need humor and spunk. While one never really forgets who any of these stars are (the likes of Donald Sutherland, Natalie Portman, and Philip Seymour Hoffman all makes appearances), it doesn’t really matter any more here than it does when we watch Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh on the screen – it all just adds to the romance.

The fact that the emotional payoff simply doesn’t move one as much as it should and that this is a tearjerker that never really produces much in the way of wet hankies, combined with the fact that this is a story that we really didn’t need to have retold in the first place, keeps this from being a great epic film romance. Still, Anthony Minghella deserves much credit for delivering a film with such quiet grace and delicate poignancy.

More Movie Info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0159365/