Yar, you be here: Cold Mountain > Customer Reviews

Cold Mountain Customer Reviews (4 - 6 of 87 Reviews)

Fantastic musical scores, acting production good but uneven and busy
Musical scores were on spot, rich and compelling, imparting emotional PUNCH! Chemistry was somewhat skewed between Kidman and Enman. The rule of "show don't tell" was broken periodically throughout dialogue, particuarly in Enman's dialogue when he goes from scene to scene "announcing" to each one he meets he's in love. Scenes were pleasantly varied, many of which were extraordinarily vivid and detailed with an interesting host of characters, however portions of acting came across as plastic and trained. It seems as though this movie tried to do "too much" and as a result the plot became vexed with business. A cornicopia of scene effects, ranging from surreal, to tragic, to tongue in cheek, to implausible (with the widow dancing and smiling shortly after she had witnessed losing her entire family to a massacre?) made it difficult at last to gain an emotional foothold and invest, although emotional offerings run like spooked herds throughout the production with the aid of ethereal soundtracks. Speaking of implausible - The friendship that ensued between the red-haired minister and Enman, in light of their initial conflict, seemed rather far fetched and silly, moreso with the minister commanding something more akin to a Broadway theatrical stage presence than a real person might portray given the strain of the times. Renee' Zelwegger did well but proved unbelievable for me in light of her typecasting and excellent role in Jerry MacGuire. Nicole Kidman was not in her element, yet even here in the role of a helpless swooner her acting credentials were present. This film was over-starred and substantially miscast. Didn't need Donald as Kidman's father and Kidman and Zellwegger's tension between themselves proved more distracting than complimentary. Overall the movie was interesting but lengthy to a fault. Undeniably a remarkable collaborative brainfest that in several ways might have been greatly improved.

A very pleasant surprise !
I came to see this movie without expecting anything - I wanted to go to the movies with my mother and she wanted to see it. I must say that I am really glad that I agreed. I didn't expect much - I DO NOT like Nicole Kidman (I find that she has a mean face) and I am not really a great fan of Renee Zellweiger or Jude Law. But I was pleasantly surprised and even more - carried away. This is the kind of movie you do not see so much this last time, the kind of stuff that Hollywood mostly stopped to make in the end of 60's. I almost had the impression that the ghosts of Bette Davis ("Jezebel") and Vivien Leigh ("Gone with the wind") were watching Nicole Kidman with approval and a friendly smile - it must be the first movie in which I almost forgot that I can't stand her.
The story is REALLY GOOD. And sad - sometimes almost unbearable. The acting is great, the visual aspect of the movie even better. The introductory sequence (battle of Black Hole) is amazing. Renee Zellweiger gives a great performance (the best in the whole movie). And then there is the incredible Natalie Portman, in an episodic but very memorable role. My advice: see it - if possible more than once. And then one more time.


Critics missed the point...musings from a Southerner
OK. Let me begin by saying that I have not read the book which I feel sure gives me a better ability to review the movie based purely upon conveying its merits without being biased toward the novel. I understand that 99% of the time a movie can't hold a candle stick to the book. Many times the complexities and intracacies do not translate well to the screen, what movies should strive for and are good at doing, however, is conveying the mood and "sense" of the times. That is what I feel Cold Mountain does very well. Yes, perhaps the story doesn't follow the book and Renee Zellweger, Natalie Portman, and Nicole Kidman are to beautiful for their own good, but they do convey the the feel of the South in the late 1800's and this is in many ways an idealistic tale. This is a period of history when the South is ripped apart and the graciousness of the people would swiftly be carted off in the succeeding years in favor of more "modern" principles of individualism instead of commnity and sharing. Not every Southerner was "bad"; war hurt everyone as the movie shows, evil knows every race and all sides. On other fronts, the movie's "emotional core" that was supposedly lacking is is completely misjudged by critics. This is a romantic tale, one in which everything does not have to be rational; indeed love is not always rational. Inman is a quiet man - his love is communicated through actions and looks. Indeed, is one always compelled to fill up the air with words to innumerate love for another? Many people, especially women, are intuative in this way- just like Ada. I find I can read other people simply on passive observation.In short, I loved this movie, its ebb and flow weave like the poetry of a lost time as Inman meets contrasting characters on his journey home juxtaposed to each other:fallen preachers and kind neighbors; musicians and easy women. Mingehlla leaves us with this poetic sensory overload to work out in our minds many hours after the lights have come up. Yes, it's a blockbuster and all that implies, yet, very occationally, even the blockbusters get it right. It's my firm belief this is one of those times.

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Next Page