Cold Mountain, freely adapted from Charles Frazier's beloved bestseller, boasts an impeccable pedigree as a respectable Civil War love story, offering everything you'd want from a romantic epic--except a resonant emotional core. Everything in this sweeping, Odyssean journey depends on believing in the instant love that ignites during a very brief encounter between genteel, city-bred preacher's daughter Ada (Nicole Kidman) and Confederate soldier Inman (Jude Law), who deserts the battlefield to return, weary and wounded, to Ada's inherited farm in the rural town of Cold Mountain, North Carolina. In an epic (but dramatically tenuous) case of absence making hearts grow fonder, Inman endures a treacherous hike fraught with danger (and populated by supporting players including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and others) while the struggling, inexperienced Ada is aided by the high-spirited Ruby (Ren??e Zellweger), forming a powerful farming partnership that transforms Ada into a strong, lovelorn survivor.

The film's episodic structure slightly weakens its emotional impact, and it's fairly obvious that director Anthony Minghella is striving to repeat the prestigious romanticism of his Oscar-winning hit The English Patient. For the most part it works, especially in the dynamic performances of Zellweger and Kidman, and the explosive 1864 battle of Petersburg, Virginia, is recreated with violent, percussive intensity. Those who admired Frazier's novel may regret some of the changes made in Minghella's adaptation (the ending is particularly altered), but Cold Mountain remains a high-class example of grand, old-fashioned filmmaking, boosted by star power of the highest order. --Jeff Shannon

An excellent film. Unfortunately it was deprived of Academy Awards it would otherwise have deserved by the fact that it came out in the same award year as The Return of the King (which was possibly the best film in the history of cinema). Jude Law takes a break from his penchant for vapid non-acting and turns in an astonishing performance as Inman. Nicole Kidman is very good, but is thoroughly trumped by a Renee Zellweger who I feel can breath excellence into the most dull of roles (I could not have countenanced Bridget Jones in any other form; fortunately Cold Mountain's Ruby Thewes is a gorgeous, meaty character). The movie was by no means over-long, but I would recommend the novel for a fuller flavour of the story. More films like this would make expensive trips to the cinema far more worthwhile.

I fell asleep when I saw this film on the television but I bought the DVD because Ren??e Zellweger and Nicole Kidman were in it and they still look attractive with uncombed hair. I like the film the more I see it. It is a lot better than 'Shenandoah'. However, some of the deleted scenes should have been put into the DVD issue.

I loved this movie, and the extras on the DVD were also good value. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and the movie is a good adaptation of it. It doesn't replicate all aspects of the story, but that can't be expected as it is a different medium. It conveys the plot, themes and spirit of the book very well. Well cast with good acting. Lots of beautiful shots, with some scenes reminiscent of old oil paintings.

Cold Mountain is a prime example of what I like to call a "Decepticon" -- beautiful on the outside, but empty inside. This is typical Civil War romance built around the conceit that a rebel soldier would desert and then traipse through hell to get back to a woman he kissed once and barely knew before he headed off to war. The film would have you believe that's all the motive Jude Law needed. Times sure must have been a lot more innocent back in 1864. Of course (SPOILERS ahead), the soldier finally makes it back more than two hours later, only to die in his lover's arms when shot by some Confederate vigilantes. Nicole Kidman's accent is pretty funny: Aussie tries to sound Southern. Didn't work. Renee Zellweger's part is well done as is Philip Seymour Hoffman's. The battle sequences are pretty realistic, I guess. I didn't fight in the Civil War, though. All in all, quite overrated Hollywood hokum, as usual. Too long, too. But worth a rent or a library borrow.

After all the hype about this movie, I was expecting so much more than was delivered. I found it to be boring, too long and lacking in any cohesive plot. Director Anthony Minghella directed two great movies: The English Patient and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Avoid Cold Mountain.

i've just finished studying the book for english AS, and we were shown the film in class

if you have any intentions of reading the book, do not watch the film, it will confuse you

a lot of facts are changed, the wrong characters do things, and are in the wrong towns etc

i personally didnt like the film, like the book it was slow paced and rather dull

Ren??e Zellweger played Ruby well, although i still find it hard to see her as anything other than Bridget Jones

Nicole Kidman & Jude Law worked well togther as well

it has all the features of a good film, it just wasnt very enthrawling