CONSENSUS #85 - Ride With the Devil (1999)

SYNOPSIS:  It is an Ang Lee film set in Missouri during the Civil War.  Jake Roedel (Tobey McGuire) joins the Bushwhackers who are secessionists at war with the Unionists and Union army.  It is a messy guerrilla war that leads up to the infamous raid on Lawrence, Kansas.  Roedel and his buddies (one of whom is a slave fighting alongside his master) go through a lot, but he does find time to marry a feisty widow (Jewel).  Jake has to contend with a nemesis played with verve by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.

BACK-STORY:  It is a film by Ang Lee (“Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”) and has his typical lush colors.  It is based on the novel Woe to Live On by Daniel Woodrell.  The actors were put through a three-week boot camp.  The movie bombed at the box office.

TRIVIA:  Wikipedia, imdb

1.  Jewel made her acting debut.  She claims that director Ang Lee chose her because her crooked teeth were appropriate for a poor Southern woman.

2.  The movie used over 250 Civil War era pistols.

3.  There were over 200 reenactors involved.

4.  The movie was shot on location in Missouri.  Pattonsburg stood in for Lawrence.  Pattonsburg had been flooded in 1993 and the city was relocated leaving many empty buildings and houses.

5.  Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon passed on the lead role that went to Tobey McGuire.

Belle and Blade  =  N/A

Brassey’s              =  N/A

Video Hound       =  N/A

War Movies         =  N/A

Military History  =  not on list

Channel 4             =  #73

Film Site                =  no

101 War Movies  =  yes

OPINION:  The inclusion of “Ride With the Devil” on the list is a bit of a surprise.  The movie did not make a dent at the box office and was not critically acclaimed.  However, the movie did not get the respect it deserved.  It is one of the better Civil War movies and covers an overlooked theater of the war.  The war in Missouri was like a mini civil war that was marred by the nastiness that irregular wars are typified by.  It was neighbor versus neighbor.  The movie’s strengths are the acting by a good cast and the historical accuracy (although the main characters are fictional).   Lee adds his vibrant visuals to a war movie and it makes for an original take on the Civil War.  It deserves to be on the list and seems appropriately placed.