Cold Mountain

In this classic story of love and devotion set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, a wounded Confederate soldier named W.P. Inman deserts his unit and travels across the South, aiming to return to his young wife, Ada, who he left behind to tend their farm. As Inman makes his perilous journey home, Ada struggles to keep their home intact with the assistance of Ruby, a mysterious drifter sent to help her by a kindly neighbor.

Anthony Minghella's Civil War epic earns mostly favorable notices for its visual grandeur and the performances of its three leads, though the aggregate suggests critics found it admirable rather than truly great. The film's sweep and craftsmanship are rarely disputed; what divides opinion is whether its romantic heart fully lands or whether the whole adds up to less than the sum of its impressive parts.