Cold Mountain (R, 2003)

Inman (Jude Law), a wounded Confederate soldier, walks away from the hospital to return to his home and to his love, Ada (Nicole Kidman). Ada was raised by her minister father (Donald Sutherland) for a life of refinement and noblesse oblige, is struggling to maintain her father's farm after his death, with the help of Ruby (Renee Zellweger). But the war is getting closer to them. Soldiers from both sides cover the countryside, the Confederates looking for deserters, the Union looking for provisions, both taking whatever they can. Inman walks back to Cold Mountain, encountering an Odyssey-like assortment of characters and adventures, including a minister who is attempting to murder the slave he got pregnant (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a lonely young mother (Natalie Portman), and a man who is less friendly than he seems. Ada is faced with challenges at home as she and Ruby try to work the farm and stay out of the way of the trouble that seems to be coming toward them from every direction. Ruby's estranged father (Brendan Gleeson), now a musician, shows up, and she must decide whether she can trust him.

COLD MOUNTAIN benefits from outstanding performances by the lead actors and a stunning range of first-rate performers in supporting roles, including Portman, Kathy Baker, and Giovanni Ribisi. The terrain of Romania, standing in for the 19th century South, is beautifully evocative, as is the splendid soundtrack, assembled by O Brother Where Art Thou's T-Bone Burnett and featuring traditional works performed by White Stripes' Jack White. But, as often happens in the adaptation of literary works, without the balance of the book's poetic language, the images tend to overwhelm the subtle issues it raises about great and small conflicts.

Kidman's radiant loveliness persuades viewers that a man could develop a lifetime of devotion after one kiss, but it would be easier to believe her experience of hardship and growth if that radiance dimmed just a little now and then. Zellweger brings some spunk to a role that is reduced to a colorful sidekick that is more Andy Devine than Eve Arden. This is a thoughtful, intelligent film with lovely performances and heartbreaking themes, but like its main characters, it has great difficulty reaching the conclusion it aspires to.