7.2/10
71%
Cold Mountain follows both the journey of Confederate deserter W.P. Inman, played by Jude Law, as he tries to return home, and the story of his beau, played by Nicole Kidman, as she struggles to keep her father’s farm running after his death.
Cold Mountain reflects changing audience preferences in war films. While the battle and military aspects were still desired by some viewers, there has been a rising interest in the experience of average citizens on the homefront. It was also one of the few war films that emphasized the war’s impact on women.
This film received mixed reviews from historians. While many complimented its truthful depiction of the terror and discomfort of the homefront, some believed it glossed over the reality of slavery. Critics responded positively to the movie, commending the film’s depiction of the homefront.
FURTHER READING
Books
Lisa Tendrich Frank, Women in the American Civil War, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2008.
Kimberly Harrison, The Rhetoric of Rebel Women: Civil War Diaries and Confederate Persuasion, Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2014.
Victoria Bynum, Unruly Women: The Politics of Social and Sexual Control in the Old South, Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, 1992.
Articles
Edwin T. Arnold, Tyler Blethen, Amy Tipton Cortner, Anna Creadick, John Crutchfield, Silas House, John C. Inscoe, Gordon B. McKinney and Jack Wright,“APPALJ” Roundtable Discussion: “Cold Mountain”, the Film,” Appalachian Journal 31, no ¾ (2004).
Martin Crawford, “Cold Mountain Fictions: Appalachian Half-Truths,” Appalachian Journal 30, no ⅔ (Winter 2003).
Edward Campbell, “Cold Mountain Review,” Southern Cultures 10, no 2, (Summer 2004).
Jessica Wilkerson and David Cline, “Mountain Feminist: Helen Matthews Lewis, Appalachian Studies, and the Long Women’s Movement,” Southern Cultures 17, no. 3 (Fall 2011).
Film Reviews
Roger Ebert, “Cold Mountain Movie Review,” Roger Ebert, December 24, 2003.
A.O. Scott, “Lovers Striving for a Reunion, With a War in the Way,” The New York Times, December 25, 2003.
Peter Travers, “Cold Mountain Movie Review,” Rolling Stone, December 22, 2003.
Scott Tobias, “Cold Mountain Movie Review,” The AV Club, January 5, 2004.
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