Release Date:
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Though Cold Mountain has no Orcs, elves, or talking trees to power the action, this tale of another long walk still does not dawdle. Jude Law appears in the remaking of Charles Frazier’s bestselling book as Inman, a man with the singular goal of reuniting with his love, Ada (Nicole Kidman–nekkidness alert!), after enduring years of Civil War hardship. The varied eccentrics Inman encounters in his journey are played by a notable collection of actors, including Giovanni Ribisi, Eileen Atkins, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and more. None, however, match the passionate excess of personality brought by Renee Zellweger to Ada’s companion in misery, Ruby Thewes. Zellweger here reaches for another Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress, and may even bring home the statue this time. For the record, her ex-boyfriend, White Stripes rocker Jack White who appears on the Mountain as a backwoods musician, does a fair enough job of acting with the limited dialogue he spews. Director and screenwriter Anthony Minghella (Academy Award Best Director winner for The English Patient), brings another love story to lengthy epic life. So if the ass blisters haven’t healed from your viewing of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, you may want to wait a week before parking it in front of Cold Mountain, but prepare to be immersed in this season’s other example of skilled storytelling.