Minghella's approach to the adaptation of Charles Frazier's novel is on the pretentious side. Case in point: There is a horrific battle sequence at the outset of the film, when Union soldiers dig underground to blow up a concentration of Confederate forces. But Minghella drowns it in music, thereby diminishing the sense of realism. Some viewers don't mind or don't even notice such heaviness. But it tips me off that this is self-consciously meant as a big picture designed to overwhelm us.

Some of the best scenes are the most gritty ones, when life hangs in the balance without a thunderous musical score, and when the cruelty of the war is allowed to surface with understatement instead of with Minghella's flourishes.

Romantic longings are essentially what carry the film. Ada (Kidman) and Inman (Law) meet early on but don't have a chance to get to know one another. Yet the spark between them nourishes him as he goes off to fight, and when wounded and disillusioned, he tries to make his way back through ordeal after ordeal in order to find his true love. Ada on her part, also smitten, waits through home front crises for him to come back to her. Always there lurks the danger of sudden death, given the state of upheaval, the hunt for deserters and the need for food wherever it can be confiscated.

Law is handsome even when he looks a mess and Kidman is gorgeous as usual. Well bred and cultured, Ada must learn to cope with the hardships of war and the rigors of life on a North Carolina farm. As for Zellweger, she plays Ruby, a drifter who becomes close to Ada, and she has worked up an accent and demeanor that, although she hits some emotional highlights, sometimes make her seem like a caricature of a hillbilly who would fit it to a Li'l Abner production. I found her grating and ridiculous at times, but expect many will find her outstanding mainly because she is so different from her image.