Movie Analysis Of Cold Mountain Film Studies Essay

Cold Mountain is a drama-romance movie released in 2003 directed by Anthony Minghella. It was based on the novel Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. Its main stars are Renee Zellweger who plays Ruby, Jude Law as Inman and Nicole Kidman as Ada Monroe. The film portrays the devastating time of civil war in America and tells a love story in the harsh environment of war. It is a heart wrenching epic film about a confederate soldier s (Law) journey home to the town of cold mountain North Carolina, to reunite with his loved one (Kidman).

The narration of the story from Ada to Inman helps the viewer understand the effects of war from both sides those at home, and the soldiers. It also invokes strong emotions on the viewer as it enables him to compare and contrast the lives of these two lovers as they wait to meet again. The events in both sides are chronologically narrated making them seem as though they are happening simultaneously. Their situations are also made to look almost similar. The movie shows the two of them as almost suffering in the same way or going through the same degree of pain. With its epic course through a world with ruthless murders and the very seductive women, it is the story of many an epic done with American actors and in an American setting. Inman s realization of the risks he faces in war is the only parts of the war scenes that actually pass a message. The other scenes are common and the expected effects of war but when the main protagonist takes time to think about his role in the war and the effects it will have, then the main theme takes effect.

The use of the scene from the infamous 1864 Siege of Petersburg is brilliant because the viewer is basically forced to icky a side about the merits of war. The bloody explosions that riddle the movie are sickening, the constant fighting and bloodshed are also enough to make even the greatest proponent of war a believer in the anti-war gospel. The marriage of the scenes with the constant shifting of scenes between the two major themes of the film is its greatest achievement. In a little over an hour, two stories are told through the story of two people who love each other abut are separated by the bad effects of the war.

In the cinematography, there is a deliberate lack of reality in the depictions of the scenes. The constant scene shifting is districting if one is most interested in just one aspect of the story. It is however brilliant because it gives the viewer a unique role as the omnipresent viewer who is still kept in suspense because he does not now whether Inman and his lover will be reunited given the series of dangers and wastes of time that he goes through in his journey back to her and when running from the authorities. The use of the episodic approach to the story is precarious because it would mean the loss in content or focus, but the director of this film manages to keep the suspense as volatile as the multi-layered story can allow.

The use of the characters is also unique. Where one would have expected that Nicole Kidman gets a more assertive role as is the norm in most movies she appears in, she is just a beautiful innocent girl in love with the wrong guy. Renee Zellweger acting as Ruby is brilliant in her act and manages to create somewhat of a feeling of nostalgia about the state of the time. She is pig-rearing and jovial woman. She is the only one with a valid southern accent and this ads t the authenticity of the film as an epic. The casting of Philip Seymour is also brilliant because he fits into his role as a former priest who seeks to engage in all the pleasures of the world that have been denied to him. Jack White is in his element here, portrayed as a singer whose stage name is similar to that of a state and involved in a sex scene that adds little to the overall content of the film. The main protagonist, Jude law, is perhaps the greatest success of the film. His natural calm persona makes the realities of his character. He is a lost soul, quiet and calculating in his actions and impossible to read or understand beyond what he readily exhibits. To use Ray Winston as the Home guard was not strength in the film because he does not seem cutout for a role that involves such brutality and heartlessness.

The characters costumes are also designed in a way that they define their personality and who they are. When Ada and she father first come to town they are dressed elegantly to an extent they almost seem out of place among the residents of Cold Mountain. These costumes show that they are educated, occupy a certain esteemed position in society and for Ada that she is a refined lady. As time goes by Ada s mode of dressing changes as she gets more accustomed to nature and the hard work in the farm. Ruby s costume when she first meets Ada is haggard. She almost looks unkempt t show her hardworking nature and her not so privileged background. The same applies for Mr. and Mrs. Swanger s costumes. The war scenes show the southern soldiers in dirty ,sweat laden costumes while the Northerners are constantly in bright and well-kept blue uniform as if to show the winning and losing side. The home guard uniform is also smart well-coordinated as opposed to Inman s old tattered and dirty clothing. This clearly brings out the difference between the boys that stayed at home and those that went to war.

Sound is also used to bring out the themes of perseverance, romance anguish and pain in this movie. The Ada s voice is used to read out the letter to Inman which emphasizes on its sincerity, emotion and desperation by which it was written. Ada s voice is also used to narrate the movie in some parts. The piano music played by Ada used as a soundtrack in the scene where Ada sees Inman for the second time in the fields. This sets a romantic mood for the scene, emphasizing on the two of them. The sound in the movie is generally mellow in order to create a somber mood. It only gets loud and dramatic in the war scenes to bring out the action that comes with the war.

The war scenes, scenes of the soldiers in hospital in the movie are generally dark to portray the suffering, pain and anguish hence the darkness that is brought about by war. The period of mourning for Ada is also set during winter to emphasize on her loneliness and the coldness left in her life by the death of her father and her lover Inman. This however changes when Ruby comes into her life also symbolized by the transition from winter to warmer and brighter weather. The scenes in the chapel and the encounters in the fields in which Ada and Inman s love blossoms at the beginning of the movie are also bright. Ada and Inman in the beginning also, do not appear in the same image together as though to show that they are not really together. The image of either is shown to the viewer through the others eyes. For example while singing in the chapel, our vision of Inman is over Ada s shoulder as she looks back to him. The same applies to the scene where Ada is looking up to Inman on the roof. When we finally seem them at the same time it gives us the overwhelming feeling of relief and joy at their union.

The most powerful moments are those that show Natalie Portman, a confederate widow. They are few and varying scenes of a woman who has to fend for herself and for her child. The hopelessness of her situation is the only things in the movie that manage to shift the emotions from those of disgust with war to those of pity and quiet hopelessness.

In the end it is impossible to see the story as anything other than a feminist view of the war. There is little interaction between the two people the film is really about, and this is a risk to the message of the film because so much is lost or missing from it that could have been important in building it. Kidman s character fails to show or prove why Inman is so in love with her, all we end up seeing is an innocent girl in love with a soldier she will either lose to the war or to the authorities he is running away from. Were it not for the very charming supporting cast and the love factor, the story would have just been another lesson on the bad effects of war. The film is successful in bringing out its various themes. It is a good romance and drama film which invokes strong overwhelming emotions in the viewer while still maintaining his intrigue in the film. The ending though unpredictable because of Inman s death ends the movie on a positive note.