|
RIDE WITH THE DEVIL Send This Review to a Friend
One might suspect that director Ang Lee, whose early filmmaking career drew upon his background in Taiwan, might not be the most logical director to tackle the American Civil War. Yet Lee has not only made "Ride With the Devil," which was showcased at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival, a profound and moving film about that costly conflict but has shed light on a much neglected aspect--the tenacious guerilla fighting that raged in the Kansas-Missouri area. Lee worked from an astute and dramatically poignant screenplay by co-producer James Schamus based on Daniel Woodrell's oddly-titled novel "Woe to Live On." The result is one of the best films I can recall about the Civil War and the toll it took on the lives of young fighters and civilians caught in the violence and the hatred.
There is a elegiac quality to the manner in which the story unfolds as it traces the losing battle of Southern young men, who feel a loyalty to the rebel cause, and their loss of innocence as they plunge deeper into the destructiveness that develops from fighting for survival and the desperation and frustration that overtakes them. Through one relationship given special attention, we also are made aware of the toll taken on the women of soldiers who do battle. Depsite the killing that we see in the action scenes and in the brutal sacking of Lawrence, Kansas, by Quantrill's Raiders, it is tenderness that dominates the film, which appears well-researched and steeped in realism.
Casting has much to do with the film's tone. Tobey Maguire makes a most sympathetic Jake Roedel, a German immigrant's son, who, along with his friend Jack (Skeet Ulrich) fights in the ranks of the Bushwhackers, as the Southern guerilla fighters were known. Maguire's demeanor is gentle and he consistently displays the sensitivity the pivotal role requires. There is a moment when in response to a question of whether he is a virgin he tells how many men he has killed, and that effectively sums up what has happened to this decent young man.
Another strong casting choice is that of the pop singer Jewel, who in her first acting role gives a sturdy, warm and subtly sensuous performance as Sue Lee, who loses two men to the war before she and Jake connect. Jeffrey Wright is excellent, too, as Daniel Holt, a former slave fighting alongside his one-time master while planning his own post-war agenda. It's a role that opens a window on another aspect of the conflict--the participation of some African-Americans on the Southern side as a result of various circumstances. The relationship is one more example of the film's complexity.
I cannot sufficiently praise the magnificent cinematography by Frederick Elmes, whose breathtaking work compels us to absorb the contrast between nature and the man-made desecration that turns beautiful surroundings into killing fields.
Ang Lee, you may recall, directed "Sense and Sensibility," also a subject far from his roots. This is more like angst and amputation if you consider one sequence in which drastic measures are needed in an effort to save a life. But the violence--all of it necessary to portray the stakes involved--should not deter an audience. The film's viewpoint is certainly anti-war as it carefully focuses on the human condition in the midst of the rampant destruction. "Ride With the Devil" is a powerful achievement. A USA Films release.
|