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Review by Susan Granger
2½ stars out of 4
Running close to four hours, including intermission, this landmark epic
of the Civil War is, basically, a television mini-series released as a feature
film. Adapted from Jeff Shaara's best-selling novel and prequel to "Gettysburg,"
it covers early 1861 through 1863, detailing with precision how the early
battles between the citizen-soldiers unfolded. While the story begins with
General Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall) being forced to choose between allegiance
to his country and loyalty to his home state of Virginia, the narrative revolves
around Lee's devoutly religious Confederate colleague, General Thomas
"Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang), who was wounded by his own men at
Chancellorsville and died of pneumonia. On the Union side, there's Colonel
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels), a professor at Bowdoin College in
Maine. Admittedly, this is historical fiction but the realities of combat are
vividly shown.
Writer/director Ronald Maxwell steers his actors into abandoning the
20th century naturalistic method to which we're accustomed and returning to an
earlier technique of declaiming their lines. As a result, the military leaders
often sound as if they're delivering a formal oration, rather than conversing.
Mia Dillon is notable as Jane Beale whose family is caught in the Battle of
Fredericksburg, while Kali Rocha is Jackson's wife and Mira Sorvino is less
convincing as Chamberlain's wife. Tycoon Ted Turner does a cameo as a jovial
officer at a Confederate camp show - and credit goes to more than 7,500
enthusiastic Civil War "re-enactors" who lend authenticity. On the Granger Movie
Gauge of 1 to 10, "Gods and Generals" is a robust yet exhausting 6. Wait for its
television debut - and watch history come to life.
Copyright © 2003 Susan Granger
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out of 4
