Cold Mountain (2003)

My Review

“Cold Mountain” is an epic Civil War drama about a Confederate soldier, a deserter from the Southern Army, who embarks on a perilous journey across the South to reunite with his sweetheart in North Carolina. Director-screenwriter Anthony Minghella (“The English Patient” 1996) meticulously crafted this film with outstanding production values, skillful writing, memorable performances, and spellbinding atmospherics.

The cast delivers riveting performances, especially the principals Jude Law and Nicole Kidman as the couple in love, and Rene Zellweger as her friend. Co-stars include Eileen Atkins, Brendan Gleeson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Donald Sutherland, Ray Winstone, Charlie Hunnam, Lucas Black, Cillian Murphy, Emily Deschanel, Kathy Baker, James Gammon, Jenna Malone, and James Rebhorn as the doctor. Most of these familiar actors delivered such great performances that it was difficult to recognize many of them.

The very watchable “Cold Mountain” was a modest success at the box office for producer Sydney Pollack, Mirage Enterprises, Bona Fide Productions, Castel Film Romania, Cattleya, and Miramax Films. It was adapted from the 1997 historical novel “Cold Mountain” by Charles Frazer, and filmed in Romania. “Cold Mountain” was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning one for Best Supporting Actress (Zellweger). Non-winners include Best Actor (Law), Best Cinematography (John Seale), Best Original Score (Gabriel Yared), Best Film Editing, and two for Best Original Song.