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Books
like Charles Frazier's "Cold Mountain" stay
with you. My family watched Anthony Minghella's new film
last night, Christmas of 2003, and I recalled when some
of us had first read the novel. Though I believed it was
around three years ago, a peek onto the title page told
me I had started it on Christmas Day, 1997. So, it was
six years. Well, the book is still fresh in my mind.
What about Minghella's adaptation? One aspect in which he
and his screenplay follow the book closely is the premise.
Although the novel starts with the protagonist Inman (reminiscent
of "Everyman") already wounded in the neck and
languishing in a Confederate hospital ward - and the film
begins with part of a battle and a raid in which Inman
clearly demonstrates his bravery - the genres come
together with Inman's long walk home across war-ravaged
North Carolina. Chapters and scenes alternately feature
Inman's dangerous trek toward his Blue Ridge home soil
and Ada Monroe's endeavors to hold down the farm at the
foot of Cold Mountain. She's the reason he's deserted;
Minghella does nice work with Nicole Kidman as Ada, as
she composes letters longing for the presence of Inman (Jude
Law), whom she actually does not know well. What a clever
device: we witness the two falling further in love
through their memories of each other, whether real or
fabricated. Both novelist and filmmaker take advantage of
this romantic seed as the plot takes root and grows about
the characters.
Minghella makes remarkable use of his cinematic art: his
text is visual and not written, and he means to exploit
it. This director is fascinated by water imagery, as we
see in "The English Patient" (even though it
may be in waves of sand) as well as in "Mountain"
at the start and finish. In a scene not appearing in the
novel, Ada follows a superstition and peers into a mirror
at the well water below, a vantage supposed to bring the
watcher a vision of the future. What she glimpses takes
away her breath and ours. Indeed, we are treated to
gorgeous vistas throughout the film. Even though my
chauvinism makes it hard to admit, the landscape of
Romania stands in well for North Carolina. I would like
to have seen more long shots of Blue Ridge Appalachia,
though. Only once can I remember Inman gazing across the
snow-capped hills, the layered frame resembling the book
cover. (I get the feeling we need more shots of Inman
scrounging for food, walking endlessly across forests and
farmland; his return home takes months, not days.)
The script is smart in so many ways. Most importantly, it
telegraphs the sensibilities of Victorian times.
Civilized people would not have acted in certain ways,
and in this picture they don't. Especially in the scenes
in which Inman and Ada get to pick up their relationship,
they articulate their agonies and come to an
understanding with quickness. Throughout, the dialog is
natural and believable.
Part of the reality comes, of course, from the strong
acting. Jude Law can disappear into any character he
plays. It's tough to imagine he's the same actor in
Minghella's "The Talented Mr. Ripley." In
"Cold Mountain," Law's Inman is unassuming and
stolid in his integrity and sense of justice - astounding
when one considers the hellish moments he has survived in
war and war-time social life. His counterpart, Nicole
Kidman, is equally effective; she conveys a somewhat
detached superiority at first, only to grow earnest when
her incompetence at outdoors life is exposed. And the
character that shows Ada how to farm? Ruby Thewes is
played by Renee Zellweger, who succeeds in the role
because of a take-charge aggressiveness. The part is all
mine, she seems to announce, and she does portray well
the rascally but sincere nature of Ruby. Zellweger's nice
teeth do get in the way, though, and her skin is a little
too flawless. The supporting cast play smoothly,
particularly Brendan Gleeson as Stobrod Thewes, and
Natalie Portman (who has finally shown me her talent) as
the desperate Sara. The episodic narrative also has time
in its 155 minutes to draw compelling roles from Philip
Seymour Hoffman as the depraved minister Veasey, and
Giovanni Ribisi as the more depraved Junior.
Although he has little time in which to do it, Minghella
cuts another facet into the film: female bonding. Ada and
Ruby read "Wuthering Heights" as Ruby passes
the months waiting for Inman, and Sally (Kathy Baker)
joins them. All three are recovering from devastating
losses, and their comfort of each other is touching,
albeit a tad overdone in a scene in which Ada plants
kisses on their cheeks.
The soundtrack to "Cold Mountain" should sell
well, especially since it showcases mountain music, some
bluegrass and a down-home rhythmic hymn. I was not overly
impressed, though, as I have heard better on the CDs for
"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and especially
"Songcatcher." Jack White from the rock group
The White Stripes plays the role of Georgia, one of
Stobrod's army-evading musicians. It's disappointing that
the producers did not attract more recognizable voices,
even if some songs ended up only on the soundtrack.
"Cold Mountain" the movie is a fascinating
hybrid. War and love, treachery and friendship, sin and
redemption, death and rebirth - so many thematic ideas
sound and resound in the narrative. This is one of the
better adaptations into film of a recent American novel (and
National Book Award winner). It's a must-see for Civil
War buffs, if only for the exploration of the home guard,
a little-taught - and here a frightening - segment of
life in 1864 North Carolina. I have so far hesitated to
teach the book in my high school English classes, as one
scene might make some parents object. (I have been using
Michael Shaara's "The Killer Angels", a factual
piece of fiction not quite as powerful as "Cold
Mountain.") In any case, if you see the film,
resolve also to read the novel. I have now been teaching
long enough to notice the erosion of literacy rates and
verbal scores on standardized tests - due largely to
students who have been coerced into reading certain
texts, and who therefore rebel and revert to playing more
video games than ever. Think of it as the slickest of
advertising packages!
See the Hollywood movie! Read the best-selling
book!
You be one to judge which stays with you longer!
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1997-2003 Bjørn
Erik Hundland. All rights
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