In this classic story of love and devotion set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, a wounded Confederate soldier named W.P. Inman deserts his unit and travels across the South, aiming to return to his young wife, Ada, who he left behind to tend their farm. As Inman makes his perilous journey home, Ada struggles to keep their home intact with the assistance of Ruby, a mysterious drifter sent to help her by a kindly neighbor.
It's enough of a spectacle to enjoy. It's too bad the stars are little more than serviceable and give the movie title an irony it could certainly do without.
– Desson Thomson,
Washington Post,
25 Dec 2003
fresh:
Cold Mountain is the equivalent of comfort food: old-fashioned, earthy, satisfying.
– Steven Rea,
Philadelphia Inquirer,
26 Dec 2003
fresh:
At 154 minutes, Cold Mountain is long and seems long, at times inspired, at times merely dutiful. But in most of the important ways, it succeeds.
– Mick LaSalle,
San Francisco Chronicle,
26 Dec 2003
rotten:
Cold is right -- Anthony Minghella's pretty, star-studded adaptation of the bestselling Civil War romance never makes it above freezing.
– Stephanie Zacharek,
Salon.com,
27 Dec 2003
fresh:
A film of many excellences undermined by a flawed narrative.