# Ride with the Devil (1999/I)

### reviewed by
Steve Rhodes

    RIDE WITH THE DEVIL
    A film review by Steve Rhodes
    Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
    RATING (0 TO ****):  ***

Patience. In this Jerry Bruckheimer era of rock 'em, sock 'em filmmaking, audiences have little patience. Worse, when they do, the films frequently don't deliver the rewards promised by their slow approach, frustrating audiences and making them more likely to go for quick gratification the next time. There's nothing like watching Bruce Willis save the world, or some large part of it, to pump up your adrenaline.

In a complete opposite to the in-your-face action style of filmmaking, Ang Lee's career has been devoted to the human dimension. From his comedic EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN to his intimate SENSE AND SENSIBILITY to his biting THE ICE STORM, his pictures have cut through the gloss to deliver fascinating, realistic character studies.

Lee's latest, RIDE WITH THE DEVIL, tells a rarely told story of the American Civil War. Set on the Kansas/Missouri border, it follows a group of Southern militia, called the Bushwhackers, as they fight skirmishes with the locals, the Union army and their Northern counterparts, the Jayhawkers. Soldiers in the regular army fought gloriously and died, whereas the Bushwhackers just fought and died. The complex reasons why they chose this unusual path are explored and explained convincingly in James Schamus's script, which is based on a Daniel Woodrell novel ("Woe to Live On").

Those going expecting a traditional war picture will be sorely disappointed. If that's the film you want, then Lee is not the director to make it. RIDE WITH THE DEVIL moves with its own methodical rhythms and with most of its story told in quiet moments of anguish as the Bushwhackers hide between fights. Battle scenes there are, but they are few and far between and rarely take center stage.

The story is one of men, young and old, but mainly older teenagers, trying to wage a war of retribution against the better equipped Northerners. Lee sets this in a wonderfully pastoral setting, full of chirping crickets, clucking hens and mooing cows. The fighters aren't glamorous or heroic; they're just persistent and, for all their bravado, obviously frightened.

In the large ensemble cast, Tobey Maguire (THE ICE STORM), as the innocent and naive Jake Roedel, has perhaps the most important role. He isn't the leader, but the story revolves around him and his friends. With the arrival of a bleak winter the Bushwhackers disband into foursomes that go off to hide in the woods. Along with Jake the first winter are Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich), George Clyde (Simon Baker-Denny) and Daniel Holt (Jeffrey Wright), an ex-slave whose freedom George purchased.

Adopted by a local Southern family, the men take a liking to the family's recently widowed daughter-in-law, Sue Lee Shelley (Jewel). "He was a good husband to me," Sue Lee rather matter-of-factly tells the four of her deceased husband. "The three weeks he was a good husband. He didn't last." It was a time when not much of anything lasted. Every visitor brought news of more dead friends, neighbors and relatives.

One of the touching scenes has the men reading stolen mail to Union soldiers. The letters are full of resignation to the fact that the recipient or the sender or both may be dead before the letter is delivered.

It was a cold and lonely calling, but the Bushwhackers coped somehow. The beauty of Lee's picture is that he relates their story with compassion but without schmaltz. Enlightening, fascinating and tender, it is the movie for those who want to get behind the lines and the action and get to know the individuals drawn into such a hellacious situation.

RIDE WITH THE DEVIL runs a little too long at 2:18. It is rated R for some graphic war violence and would be fine for older teenagers.

Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

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