It is the year of 1861. Abe is the 'House and a bloody civil war has broken out between the Confederate Stats of America (the south) and the United States of America (the north) over slavery.
W.P. Inman (Jude Law), lives in a small North Carolina town called Cold Mountian. When we first meet this young man, he has just learned that he has been drafted. Thus, Inman must go fight in the civil war on the side of the Confederacy.
A couple of days before he is drafted, Inman meets a young woman named Ada Monroe (Nicole Kidman) with whom he shares an all-too brief romantic kiss. But as he marches off to war, Ada gives him a book and her photo to remember her by.
As Inman is off fighting the North, the poor little rich girl Ada has to help her elderly father run the family farm. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, Ada's father dies. This leaves the unenviable task of running the farm herself, and Ada knows she can't farm alone. Enter stage left Ruby Thewes (Renée Zellweger). A drifter with an abusive father, Ruby comes to Ada's farm to help her out, have a place to live and food to eat.
Meanwhile, Inman has escaped from the Confederate Army and is on the run. But, while at a whore house, he is caught. Inman is to be sent back to the war. However, he escapes a second time. He is not recaptured, but along his way home he meets a colorful cast of characters who help him out on his quest home.
Eventually Ada and Inman do meet again... but it's not how either of them thought it would be.
Cold Mountain is a film which tells two paralell stories. One of the stories is about Ada, and the other one is about Inman.
We see how Ada deals with her farm, friends and family, all the while waiting for Inman to return home from the war. The other story tells of Inman, and how he deserts the war and is recaptured; how he is nearly killed several times but eventually makes it home to his love. Each story is interesting and are interwoven very well.
Nicole Kidman looked out-of-place in this film; her accent wasn't all that good and she just didn't "feel" right for the part. Renée Zellweger was much better as a southern girl, and her accent was bang-on. Jude Law was great in his role. I could really connect with his character more-so that I could with Nicole's.
There is an inordinate amount of violence contained in Cold Mountain. The blowings up of the Confederate soldiers, the liters and liters of blood, the death/tortures of Ada's neighbours, the brutal rape... I was really quite turned off by all it all.
There is nothing glamorous about war, I know. Yes, war is violent, and yes, war is hell. Films like Saving Private Ryan, for example, show graphic violence. Steven Spielberg, however, knew when to draw the line. This is dramatic movie after all, not The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Finally, I had to laugh when Ruby's father, Stobrod Thewes stated, "I wrote several tunes with you in mind - Ruby this, Ruby that, Ruby with the eyes that sparkle."
Honestly, I was certain he was going to say "...Ruby this, Ruby that, Ruby with the eyes that sparkle, Ruby Tuesday..." (*GROAN* ...I know, that's really bad.)
Plot: 
This film was based on the book of the same name. It wasn't a great adaptation of the book like The Lord of the Rings were, but it was good.
The two paralell stories were interesting, and fit together nicely.
Visual Effects:
The cinematography was exceptionally well done; cudos to that. The special effects were also well done, most notably the explosion of the Confederate camp in the beginning.
The graphic violence was way over the top and was not needed. It could have easily been toned down; there was no need for so much brutality. This lost the film points.
Sound: 
The Oscar-nominated score was well done, but not memorable. And despite two nominations for best song (The Scarlette Tide and You Will Be My Ain True Love), they were, again, nothing special.
Character Development:
When we first meet Ada, she is nothing but a city-slicker who now has to get her hands dirty. Inman is a young man heading off to war. When Ada and Inman meet after all that time apart, yah, they have changed. Ada is still that city-slicker and has learned some tough lessons. Inman, though, has been through some tough battles and has grown up a great deal.
Atmosphere:
This is an easy film to sit down and start to watch, but the heavy graphic violence will turn a few people off sooner, rather than later.
Realism:
The graphic war scenes are realistic enough, but the romantic back story is pure Hollywood. The two aspects don't really balance out, though.
Warren’s Rating:
7.14/10 Is the movie worth your time to watch?
10-12-04
Age at win: 34
Nominated for: Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Ruby Thewes, Cold Mountain
Nomination: 3/3 (acting), 3/3 (total); Win: 1st
As Ruby Thewes in Cold Mountain, Renée plays a great southern girl. Her accent is so much better than that of co-star Nicole Kidman.
Her character, Ruby, is suppsoed to be a drifter, and she sure does look the part. Every time she comes on screen, she takes over the spotlight. Nicole Kidman may be a bigger star, but she doesn't have as much passion in her role as Renée does.
Having been born in Texas, Renée has a lot of experiance in being a southern girl, and she really did nail her performance. This was Renée's third Oscar nomination in a row, having also been nominated in 2001 for Bridget Jones' Diary, and in 2002 for Chicago. (It is RARE that some one would be nominated three years in a row and not win at least once, but it has happened.)
10-12-04
