NewMexiKen watched Cold Mountain twice last evening, first as a movie and secondly with the commentary of director and screenwriter Anthony Minghella and film editor Walter Murch.
Somehow, Renée Zellweger’s Oscar-winning performance had escaped my radar. I remembered she’d been nominated for Best Supporting Actress (and that Nicole Kidman famously had not been nominated for an Oscar), but I did not remember that Zellweger won. And I knew nothing of her performance or the character.
She was superb, saving the film from its own earnestness. Most intriguing talent from UT Austin since Janis Joplin.
And who would think a Civil War film, famous for its love story and its battle scene, would come across as a tale of female bonding?
Alas, the commentary on this film, while not without some interest, is remarkably tedious. These two creative talents believe that a picture requires 1,000 words. Or at least every explanation and elaboration does.