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Cold Mountain Review

Other Critics provided by Metacritic.com

Critics scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 4.0
    73

    out of 100

    Metascore®
    Generally favorable reviews
    based on a weighted average of all
    critic review scores.

  • 60

    out of 100

    Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

    There are not one, but two wars raging inside this adaptation: one between the North and the South, and another, more calamitous war between art and middlebrow entertainment.

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  • 67

    out of 100

    Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

    Minghella's adaptation of the 1997 Charles Frazier novel is emotionally detached and almost too studiously carpentered: a willed exercise in mythmaking.

    Read Full Review

  • 70

    out of 100

    Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

    Looks splendid and commands respect, but leaves you wondering what essential something you missed. It's a worthy film at war with itself.

  • 75

    out of 100

    Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

    By the end of the film, you admire the artistry and the care, you know that the actors worked hard and are grateful for their labors, but you wonder who in God's name thought this was a promising scenario for a movie. It's not a story, it's an idea.

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  • 80

    out of 100

    The New York Times Dana Stevens

    The result is a mountain of honest, nourishing corn, a lavish evocation of simplicity that, for all its showy sophistication, has an appealing emotional directness. For all its sweep and scope and movie-star magic, Cold Mountain is studded with fine small moments and deft supporting performances.

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  • 80

    out of 100

    Variety Todd McCarthy

    A grim picaresque odyssey across a beautiful scarred landscape laced together by private romantic longing. Handsomely made and vividly acted.

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  • 88

    out of 100

    USA Today Mike Clark

    Watching this movie, it seems to be the next level down from great -- maybe too episodic. But it burns in the memory weeks after you see it.

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  • 90

    out of 100

    The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

    A somber, often downbeat depiction of human savagery and treachery as well as of human kindness. Writer-director Anthony Minghella has meticulously crafted an intimate epic.

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  • See all Cold Mountain reviews at Metacritic.com

For Families provided by Common Sense Media

Iffy for 15+

Excellent but upsetting, only for older teens.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that the movie has very graphic battle violence, with many characters wounded and killed. There are explicit sexual references and situations, including nudity, prostitution, and attempted rape. Characters engage in a swindle involving seduction and betrayal, with nudity and graphic references. One character shows strong values by turning down sexual offers so that he can remain faithful to the woman he loves. Characters use strong language.

  • Families can talk about how the perspective of this movie, sympathetic to the point of view of the deserter and putting a lot of emphasis on the challenges of the people who were not fighting the battles, differs from many stories set in wartime. What does that say about that era and ours? How does that relate to the description of what happens when the bird eats a seed? Ruby and Ada were both raised by their fathers. Which father prepared his daughter best for what she would have to do? What do each of the people Inman meets on his way home add to the story? If the sky were to fall down tomorrow, what would you want to make sure you said today?

The good stuff
  • rolemodels true3

    Role models: Very strong female characters.

What to watch for
  • violence false5

    Violence: Graphic wartime violence, torture, many characters wounded and killed.

  • sex false5

    Sex: Nudity, sexual references and situations, including rape, group sex.

  • language false3

    Language: Strong 19th century language.

  • consumerism false0

    Consumerism: Not an issue

  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3

    Drinking, drugs and smoking: Drinking.

Fan Reviews provided by

5


3

by TRIOdevil

4

by TerpsFan72

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