Ride With the Devil (1999) 1 star out of 4. Starring Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, Jewel and Jeffrey Wright. Directed by Ang Lee.
"Ride With the Devil," an overwrought Civil War melodrama, is a very long and boring trot.
The mediocre offering from director Ang Lee is a major misfire, a big disappointment that will do nothing to further the career of its two main stars, Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich.
Nor will Jewel probably want to add her lackluster film debut to her resume.
This wounded turkey lacks focus and a point. Is it about the futility of war? Is it a story of accepting responsibility? Or is it a tale of brotherhood?
Who knows. Who cares. Director Lee, best known for his fine work on "Eat Drink Man Woman," "Sense and Sensibility" and "The Ice Storm," seems lost as he tries to handle this potboiler that looks at the war from the point of view of two Missouri youths who join the Bushwhacker guerrilla movement to protect their state from being overrun by Jayhawkers and federal troops.
The stilted dialogue sounds like it was ripped from the pages of some failed romance novel.
None of the main actors shows any personality or spark. When not skirmishing with the enemy, they sit around a lot just chewing the fat, boring us to death.
Now I know why war is hell.
The movie's bright spot belongs to Jeffrey Wright as Daniel Holt, a former slave who chooses to fight with the Southern sympathizers. Holt is the only character who shows any complexity or dimension.
Ulrich, especially, with an accent dripping with molasses, sounds like a refugee from a road show company of "Gone With the Wind." His mannerisms are such sickening affectations that you find it hard to believe Lee actually allowed his cinematographer to film his scenes.
Maguire seems to spend most of his time pouting, when he's not shooting people or talking endlessly about family and honor.
The only positive about "Ride With the Devil" is the scenery. Otherwise this is one Civil War drama that should be gone with the wind.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net
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