Ride with the Devil

Was director Ang Lee attempting to emulate Terrence Malick with 1999's RIDE WITH THE DEVIL?  The film, which depicts a band of young men who leave their homes in Missouri during the Civil War to join the Bushwackers, rogue soldiers for the Confederate cause, seems to have its head in the clouds, yet firmly rooted in the mud and daily grinds of such a life.  There's a scholar's appreciation of historical accuracy, while screenwriter James Schamus (a frequent collaborator of Lee) pens what plays like a revisionist Western of sorts.  These are interesting subjects that are curiously treated quite blandly.

Jake (Tobey Maguire) and Jack Bull (Skeet Ullrich) find themselves as First Missouri Irregulars after the latter's father is murdered by the Jayhawks, sympathetic to the Union army.  They will join others of like mind and fight their way across the state.  They play dirty, sometimes dressing in Union clothes to fool their enemies.  But they never kill women or children.  In this band is Daniel Holt (Jeffrey Wright), a slave who was rescued by George Clyde (Simon Baker).  There is of course some irony in how a black man would fight for the Confederacy, but the film does not explore this in any overt detail.  It is left to film critics to ponder, I guess.

Along the way, the men meet a widow named Sue Lee (Pop star Jewel) who will become romantic with Jack Bull.  But war is hell.  Life takes some brutal left turns.  Jake, son of a German immigrant, will suffer prejudice from a few of the Southerners.

RIDE WITH THE DEVIL travels familiar territory, and that wasn't a problem. What was a problem was the film's lack of cinematic ambition.  Oh, there is authentic sounding dialogue, real locations, strict attention to period detail.  But regrettably Lee and cinematographer Frederick Elmes have crafted a film that looks and feels like a mediocre made for cable miniseries.  Schamus' script is just so stale, and while the actors are all fine they certainly shoulder some of the blame. The characters are mostly thin, never really flesh and blood (excepting maybe Holt and Sue Lee).   There is no discernable focus to the narrative.  It all just plods along.  If you aren't aggressively interested in the subject matter there is about zero reason to watch this.

It's unfortunate as Ang Lee has repeatedly proven himself an excellent director of a diverse body of material.  I did not recognize much of RIDE WITH THE DEVIL as evidence as his work.  There is little energy, and while there is urgency and humanity, it rang hollow for me.  Just a tired historical drama that failed to distinguish itself from any television hackery.  And it's deadly boring to boot.  I would've liked to have seen a Malick take on this material.  Maybe we already have in one form or another.