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Review

A terrific ensemble brings to life Charles Frazier's award-winning novel of love and sacrifice in the Old South during the final days of the Civil War. Featuring strong direction from Minghella (The English Patient), superior production design and a touching story of thwarted love, Cold Mountain melds the romantic and horrific onto a handsome package whose episodic stories can't help but engage. A miscast Kidman is Ada, the daughter of a minister who tries to keep the family estate intact after her father's death. Law is excellent as Inman, a Confederate soldier who leaves behind the bloody battlefields to return to her. The story interweaves these two plots as Inman must elude detection as a deserter and Ada struggles against the elements and greedy land developers. Zellweger, who won an Oscar for her gritty portrait of a tenacious drifter, is a breath of fresh air as Ruby, who helps Ada farm the land and maintain her sanity. Minghella's battle sequences are superb, leaving little doubt as to why Inman would risk capture and death to return home. On the road, Inman meets a marvelous gallery of characters, the best being the wonderful Hoffman as a defrocked priest, Atkins as a mountain woman and Portman as a young mother. Interestingly, the film avoids tackling any issue concerning slavery, unusual for a Civil War-themed, Southern-based story. A minor flaw (though what about Nicole never getting dirty being a farmer!) for an otherwise enthralling tale of war, romance and what it takes to stay alive.

 -- David Bleiler