Ride with the Devil (The Criterion Collection) (1999)

Thus reasoned young bushwhacker Jake Roedel, (Tobey Maguire) summing up the condition of his native Missouri, torn apart by savage guerilla warfare, as neighbor fought and killed neighbor during the Civil War. This outstanding movie manages to take much the same attitude as it tells the tale of this troubling period that has usually been handled in a much more partisan manner.

The Civil War in Missouri was particularly terrible, as the loyalties and interests of the population split between the Union and the Confederacy. Few regular troops were committed to Missouri, and most of the fighting was done by roving gangs of Irregulars; Secessionist Bushwhackers and Unionist Jayhawkers. These men more often made war on those who once had been their neighbors and friends than on uniformed troops, and terrible atrocities that were more murder than war were committed by each side.

`Ride with the Devil' is an incredibly thoughtful and nuanced telling of this sad story. All of the protagonists are bushwhackers, but the movie does not attempt to paint them as pure heroes fighting against evil for all that is good and right. Instead, it manages to show them as young men who had the misfortune to be caught up in the sweep of history and forced into a violent life by unavoidable circumstances. We see the struggle some of them had between the violent actions that had become their life and their own sense of decency, and we see others enthusiastically revel in the murderous mayhem glad for the excuse the war had given them to be free of the constraints of civilized society. One scene in particular drives home the fact that these warriors were more boys than men. Jake (Maguire) faces his new bride, a young women already widowed by the war (Jewel) in the bedroom on their wedding night. When she asks him if he is a virgin, he blusters that "I've seen plenty" and when ask again if he has been with a woman, he seems frozen with terror, and only manages to say, "Girl, I've killed fifteen men." These were boys forced to become killers before many had the chance to be lovers.

Though there were no Unionist protagonists in this film, it used an effective device to put across the humanity of the bushwhacker's enemies. A captured mailbag was plundered, and letters were read aloud as the bushwhacker's searched for enemy secrets. The letters turned out to be mundane messages from mothers to sons and brother to brother. The young men heard and acknowledge how like their own mothers and brothers these people sounded, and how in other circumstances they might find them fine people, before someone reminded them that the sons of that mother would kill them, given the chance.

`Ride with the Devil' is filmed beautifully, and is as close to being cinematically perfect as could be desired. Its scenes of violence are quick, realistic, and brutal, but the film does not dwell on them. Indeed, there are long sequences that deal with nothing but the complex interpersonal relationships of the characters, and action war movie junkies are likely to find `Ride with the Devil' a disappointment despite its realism. Tobey Maguire is perfectly cast as a shy, decent young man trying to maintain his integrity in a violent life, and Jeffery Wright is outstanding as a freed slave who fights for the bushwhackers out of loyalty to his friend who freed him. All of the roles are well cast and acted, including Jewel in her film debut as a young Confederate widow.

`Ride with the Devil' is the best done of any Civil War film that I have yet seen. It is beautifully filmed, skillfully acted, intelligently written, and tells its story with fairness and perspective. Unfortunately, its virtues are exceeded by its obscurity, as so many have never heard of it. Now that you know of it, don't cheat yourself by missing this outstanding film.

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This is one of those rare movies where everybody got it right ---from the cinematography to the casting; from the musical score to film editing; from costume design to second unit directing this movie is nearly flawless. The directing by Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility) and the performance by a wonderful ensemble cast put this movie in a league with the great modern frontier movies like The Outlaw Josey Wales and The Long Riders.

Set on the Missouri/Kansas border during the American Civil War, the movie faithfully recreates the story told by Daniel Woodrell in his wonderful novel, Woe To Live On. The book is worth reading for the dialogue alone and the movie is worth watching simply for James Schamus' magnificent screenplay: But there is much move to love about this movie.

The tapestry upon which the story of Ride With The Devil is painted is a violent one but, apart from some very graphic scenes, is more about human nature than anything else. Indeed, the depth of the violence only adds to the poignancy of the surprisingly frequent gentle scenes that occur in the movie. Tobey Macguire is perfect in the lead role, Jewel gives a surprisingly intuitive performance, and Jefrey Wright almost steals the show with his low-key, but passionate performance as a freed slave riding with a gang of white bushwhackers. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Macguire's nemesis, has a small part but is death himself. (His final confrontation with Macguire is brief and chilling --and encapsulates the entire sense and sensibility of the movie.)

Sadly, this movie will probably go unnoticed by the general public since it seems to have had a limited release in the US and gone almost immediately from the theater to the rental market. Hopefully word-of-mouth will build interest in this truly remarkable American classic. Watch it --but read the book too.

Buy Ride with the Devil (The Criterion Collection) (1999) Now

Picture this a movie directed by Oscar winner Ang Lee starring Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, James Caviezel, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Jewel, and Jeffrey Wright, bankrolled to the tune of $35 Million and written/produced by James Schamus (who previously teamed with Ang Lee on "The Ice Storm" and "Sense and Sensibility"); authentic to the time and place courtesy of experts on the culture, weapons, military tactics, and even to the dialects.

Now picture this critical reviews are majority positive following initial screenings for critics. BUT some critics who weren't first-round invitees start howling about the portrayal of a Black Confederate guerrilla (Jeffrey Wright, actually based on Free Black John Noland who rode with Quantrill).

The result? Sony bites its nails and after missing a December 24th, 1999, release date to a scheduled 1600 theaters nationwide releases "Ride" to just eight theaters nationwide for a three-day limited run. Rather than face possible criticsm from the ignorant for being historically accurate, Sony ate the $35 Million movie and all associated costs.

This is an excellent movie, but it is not "Gods and Generals" picture something more along the lines of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but featuring Americans facing off against each other.

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Missouri was one of the slave states that was kept in the Union during the Civil War and since it was on the far side of the Mississippi River it was not really part of the Western Theater of the war. As the critical part of the Anaconda Plan the Union armies were seeking control of the Mississippi, which explained why General Grant was fighting his way from Tennessee to Vicksburg while Admiral Farragut took New Orleans. In fact, there really was not an organized Confederate army in Missouri, which explains why the young Southern men in "Ride with the Devil" join the Irregulars, who waged guerrilla warfare against Union loyalists. In this part of the war we do not talk about great battles, but rather the infamous raid that torched Lawrence, Kansas on August 21, 1863 as Quantrill's raiders murdered the pro-Union Jayhawks.

The story here focus on six young men who join the bushwackers: Jake Roedel (Tobey Maguire), a first generation American who wants to be considered as much a Southerner as any one else even though his father came from Germany (which means he is called "Dutchy"); Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich), who hates the Yankees and has seen his family killed; George Clyde (Simon Baker-Denny), a gentleman fighting to preserve a way of life that is going to be gone with the wind; Daniel Holt (Jeffrey Wright), an ex-slave who fights besides Clyde because the man freed him; Pitt Mackeson (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who is a sadist who glories in killing; and Black John (James Caviezel), almost as brutal but more driven by anger and revenge.

The idea in "Ride with the Devil" is that when America went to war with itself in 1861 the young boys growing up in Missouri and Kansas were suddenly forced into a less than honorable manhood overnight. Consequently, one of the first casualties of the war was their innocence. In 1987 Missouri-born author Daniel Woodrell wrote his Civil War-era novel "Woe to Live On." For Ang Lee the appeal was the drama of young people coming of age in the worst possible time in American history and the theme of self-emancipation. The principal actors were put through three weeks of "boot camp" to capture the way the war dehumanized the young men forced to fight it.

This film start out focusing on the friendship between Jake and Bull as much as it is on anything else, but then while hiding out from the Yankees during the winter Bull takes a liking to Sue Lee Shelly (Jewel), a young widow woman who is helping to provide them with food. Having lost both his father and his best friend, Jake continues to fight because that is what he is supposed to be doing and starts to connect with two other characters in ways that will eventually change his life. After the Lawrence Raid it is clear that the war is going to be lost and a young man who has not even seen twenty years realizes he is lost as well.

Certainly "Ride with the Devil" is a beautiful film with the sense of period authenticity you would expect from Lee. It is not really a movie about the Civil War any more than "Cold Mountain" is (an obvious comparison), but more about the friendships that take place during a war. It is just not clear that this is the central theme because our expectations are raised by more standard plot considerations (love and revenge) that do not get played out the way you would think. There is also a sense in which Roedel is the least interesting character of the bunch, yet he emerges as the central figure and the most important gun in the film is perhaps the one that is not fired.

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Released in 1999 "Ride with the Devil" is a Civil War tale focusing on Southern guerrilla fighters known as Bushwhackers, mostly young men who stage daring raids on Union forces and communities along the Missouri/Kansas border. The story includes Quantrill's infamous 1963 raid on Lawrence, Kansas, which he burned & pillaged and murdered over 150 unarmed men, women and children.

The story shines the spotlight on the son of a German immigrant (Tobey Maguire aka Spider-man), a beautiful woman (Jewel) and an ex-slave (Jeffrey Wright), all of whom take up the Southern cause. I enjoyed how Tobey and Wright slowly develop a close friendship, as well as Wright's growing sense of freedom as the story progresses. Jewel makes an impressive acting debut and should do more films, she's a natural.

One reviewer erroneously stated that the film ran 3 hours so I was surprised when the credits started rolling at the 2 hour and 13 minute mark. In fact, I was disappointed because I wanted the story to continue; this is a sign of a good film. The story takes its time and gradually pulls you in.

Before viewing "Ride with the Devil" I caught the new Indiana Jones flick "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." The contrast couldn't be more different -"Crystal Skull" is essentially a 2-hour Road Runner cartoon, whereas "Ride" is a totally realistic drama/Western. Although I enjoyed "Crystal Skull" for what it is, it can't be taken serious for even a second, not to mention they overdid it with the over-the-top action and fake cgi location enhancements & props (cliffs, waterfalls, jungles, monkeys, etc.). "Ride with the Devil" is the perfect antidote to such looney-toon drivel. It's totally realistic and takes its time so you get to know the characters and FEEL their experiences. For instance, what's it like spending the entire Winter in a dugout hut in the woods with three other guys and the only highlight is some cute blond stopping by to drop off food? What's it like when you have no other recourse but to saw a buddy's arm off? What's it like when a blood-thirsty "comrade" tries to kill you during battle? What do you do when you run into him two years later and you're not sure what his intentions are?

The film was shot in Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas where the conflicts actually took place. Authentic locations are vital to this viewer. After all, how are we to accept the film's visualization of history if it wasn't shot where the actual events occurred?

I encourage you to view the film with the subtitles on as the language is sometimes hard to understand due to accents and archaic phrasing; this will help you follow what's going on and who's who.

FINAL ANALYSIS: "Ride with the Devil" is reminiscent in quality & style of films like "Cold Mountain," "Pharoah's Army" and "The Long Riders." If you appreciate those films you'll enjoy "Ride." It's leagues better than the generally aloof and soporific "Gettysburg." It's a class 'A' picture which brings to life Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, including what leads up to it and what follows -how can you go wrong?

The dvd includes Jewel's music video for the song "What's Simple is True."

PERSONAL GRADE: Aor B+

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