‘Cold Mountain’ is grand but unsatisfying

JOHN DEPKO

“Cold Mountain” is a stunning film that is beautiful to behold in

every respect.

Outstanding direction, cinematography and music set the tone for

each scene. There is no denying the first-rate acting by Nicole

Kidman and Jude Law as star-crossed lovers whose romance is rudely

interrupted for three long years by the horrors of the Civil War. But

this is a movie that can be admired for its many excellent parts,

while the enterprise as a whole might leave us wanting more.

Although advertised as a Civil War epic, the only full-scale

battle scene takes up only a few minutes at the beginning of a

two-and-

half-hour movie. That one battle is horrendous enough to make us

understand why Jude Law’s character decides to desert the Confederate

Army. He spends the last few months of the war dodging defeat and

meaningless death as he desperately tries to work his way back home

across hundreds of miles of dangerous territory.

In this odyssey lies the heart of the story. The fleeing soldier

encounters many strange situations and moral choices that must be

made. Matters of life and death hang in the balance of a single

moment. The screenplay offers two distinct plot lines as it cuts back

and forth between his frightening adventures and the terrible

problems that befall the loved one he left behind.

Excellent supporting actors play the roles of several colorful

characters in both scenarios. The best of these is Renee Zellweger as

the indomitable Ruby, a feisty pioneer woman with the courage and

wits to match any man. She plays a central role in the final

resolution of the two lovers’ lives as they move relentlessly to

their final destiny.

Like “The English Patient,” this film paints a dramatic picture of

an intimate relationship set against one of history’s epic struggles.

It’s sure to garner several Oscar nominations, but like an expensive

porcelain statue, “Cold Mountain” is exquisitely elegant but

lightweight and hollow inside.

* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator

for the Orange County public defender’s office.