Cold Mountain (film) - Plot

Plot

The story is told in a series of flashbacks from the viewpoint of W. P. Inman (Jude Law), a quiet man from a provincial North Carolina town. He meets Ada (Nicole Kidman), the new preacher's daughter. However, as their relationship begins to develop, the Civil War begins and Inman is compelled to join the fray.

The film opens in July 1864 at the Siege of Petersburg. After suffering a serious wound, Inman is sent to a Confederate military hospital where he recovers alongside other soldiers who, like himself, have become disaffected by the prolonged and horrifically destructive war. As he faces the inevitability of being sent back to the war, and after receiving a letter from Ada imploring him to return home to Cold Mountain, he decides to desert the army and sets off in the night to make the perilous journey home.

Inman's journey to return to Ada is fraught with danger and unexpected encounters with other desperate individuals, some treacherous and some sympathetic. He faces starvation, extreme weather, and the constant harassment of the ruthless Confederate Home Guard, led by the vicious Teague (Ray Winstone), sent to track down deserters. He is at times aided in his journey by strangers equally affected by the horrors of war.

As Inman journeys home, Ada is left destitute and desperate back at Cold Mountain after the death of her father. She is aided by a young woman named Ruby Thewes (Renée Zellweger) who is determined to help Ada and her farm at Black Cove survive through the worsening conditions of the war-ravaged South. Ruby is reunited with her estranged fiddle-playing deserter father, Stobrod, whose return threatens to bring disaster to Black Cove.

The film alternates between Inman's epic journey and Ada's trials at Cold Mountain, while telling through flashbacks the story of Ada and Inman's brief love affair before the war tore them apart.