FAQ

Wounded Confederate soldier W.P. Inman (Jude Law) deserts the army and struggles to return to Cold Mountain, North Carolina and to Ada Monroe (Nicole Kidman), the southern belle who promised to wait for him. Meanwhile, Ada's father (Donald Sutherland) has died, leaving Ada, who has no skills other than looking pretty and playing piano, to manage her father's failing farm by herself, grasping only at the hope that Inman will someday come back to her. In order to survive, Ada pairs up with feisty drifter Ruby Thewes (Renée Zellweger), who happens to be adept at survival and who helps Ada keep the place from falling into the hands of Captain Teague (Ray Winstone), leader of the local Home Guard, a group of vigilantes who hunt and kill deserters and anyone they think might be helping them.

Cold Mountain is a 1997 novel by North Carolinian author Charles Frazier. It was adapted for the movie by English film-maker Anthony Minghella, who also directed this movie.

Cold Mountain is a work of fiction. However, the main character, W.P. Inman, is based on a real person. William P. Inman is an ancestor of author Charles Frazier. In the last line of the book, Frazier apologizes for taking "great liberties" with Inman's life.

The beginning of the movie portrays the Battle of the Crater, which occurred outside Petersburg, Virginia, on July 30th, 1864 (during the American Civil War).

Yes. Brendan Gleeson, who plays Ruby's father Stobrod, is an accomplished fiddle player. He is credited with performing three fiddletunes in the movie: Bonaparte's Retreat, Ruby with the Eyes that Sparkle, and Sittin' on Top of the World. Incidentally, Jack White, who plays the mandolin as Georgia, is also an accomplished musician, playing guitar and singing vocals with two different bands, The White Stripes and The Raconteurs. White is also credited with performing three songs in the movie: Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over, Wayfaring Stranger, and Great High Mountain.

That's bluegrass musician Alison Krauss. She is credited with performing two songs in the movie: You Will be My Ain True Love and The Scarlet Tide.

Many viewers think Teague's deputy Bosie (Charlie Hunnam) was an albino with his pale skin and white hair. It is mentioned in the book that he had frequent and random nosebleeds that made him unsuitable as a soldier, but no specific disease or condition is named. A few possibilities that viewers have mentioned include anemia, some sort of bleeding disorder such as Von Willebrand's disease (hemophilia), cancer, or syphillis.

1. It's cold.

After finally reuniting, Ada and Inman "marry" each other that night and make love in an abandoned shack at the Old Cherokee settlement where Inman, Stobrod, and Ruby are hiding from the Home Guard. In the morning, Ruby and Ada head for home first, but they are intercepted by the Guard. When Inman and Stobrod catch up, they fire on the Guard, killing all of them except for Bosie. Inman goes after Bosie on horseback, and they wind up facing each other in a standoff. Bosie pulls out a concealed gun and fires at Inman. Inman also gets off a shot, killing Bosie. Unfortunately, Inman is mortally wounded and dies in Ada's arms. Flash forward to Easter Sunday, some nine years in the future. Stobrod is playing his fiddle while family and friends sit around a table set up in the front yard of Black Cove. Ruby has married Georgia, and they have two children. Ada sits with her daughter Grace (Kristen Nicole LaPrade), who was conceived on Ada and Inman's wedding night. In a voiceover, Ada says, "I looked once more down Sally's well, and this time there was nothin' to haunt me. Just clouds. Clouds and then...sun."