Well folks, it's December...and you know what that means! Time to break out those heavy jackets, time to fight the crowds at the shopping malls, and most of all, time to hit the cineplexes for the annual glut of year-end Oscar contenders. Topping the list by far is "Cold Mountain," a film that has more Oscar pedigree than any other movie since last year's "Gangs of New York."

Based on Charles Frazier's award-winning novel about love and survival at the end of the Civil War, "Cold Mountain" is written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, whose 1996 epic "The English Patient" won 9 Academy Awards (including Best Picture). The film stars Oscar nominees Jude Law and Renee Zellweger, and it features Nicole Kidman hot off her recent Oscar win for "The Hours." If that's not enough, the entire $80 million budget was footed by Harvey Weinstein's Miramax Pictures, the biggest "little" studio in Hollywood that has a reputation for aggressive Oscar campaigning.

The good news is that "Cold Mountain" features top-notch performances, incredible production values, realistic battle scenes and deep interpersonal conflict. The bad news is that by trying way too hard to deliver the goods, it winds up being trapped by its own pretentious ambitions. Perhaps burdened by the pressure to deliver a romantic epic along the lines of "The English Patient" (and its well-reviewed and follow-up "The Talented Mr. Ripley"), director Minghella comes up a little short with a good film that could have been great.

After being wounded in battle, Confederate soldier Inman (Jude Law) makes his way across the devastated southern landscape to return home to Ada (Nicole Kidman), the woman he left behind. During his journey, he encounters a slew of obstacles -- ranging from slaves and rebels to enemies and bounty hunters -- but he makes some unexpected friends along the way. Meanwhile, the once-sheltered Ada must fend for herself in order to protect her family's farm, but help comes in the form of Ruby (Renee Zellweger), a kind-hearted drifter who teaches Ada how to find her inner strength while waiting for her true love to return home...if he ever does.

When film historians look back on 2003, they'll remember it as the year that the Civil War made an ambitious return to the big screen, albeit with mixed results. Earlier this year, the 4-hour opus "Gods and Generals" was seen as a God-awful and generally boring history lesson with well-dressed, bearded actors delivering long-winded, self-important speeches. More recently, "The Last Samurai" featured Tom Cruise as a washed-up former Civil War hero whose journey towards redemption took place in a land about as far away from the Civil War as possible.

In adapting "Cold Mountain," which itself was based on Homer's literary classic "The Odyssey," Minghella does an effective job at conveying the conflict of a devastated nation. The region is divided between war-ravaged southerners who have accepted defeat and those who refuse to let go of their pride, yet for all its sweeping ambitions, something feels a bit off. The film is missing the convincing, romantic pull that would have given it a more engaging personal edge, and there are certain scenes that feel contrived rather than genuine, melodramatic rather than heartfelt.

Having said that, "Cold Mountain" features several standout performances, especially from Jude Law (in a role that was originally slated for Tom Cruise), who takes an essentially passive role and infuses it with genuine suspense. Nicole Kidman also goes through an effective transformation that mirrors Law during his journey, but there's no doubt that Renee Zellweger steals the show. As the earthy drifter, Zellweger provides some much-needed comic relief with an awards-worthy performance that may provide payback for losing last year's Oscar to Kidman.

Between the acting, the beautiful scenery (with Romania filling in for North Carolina), the swelling score (composed by Gabriel Yared, Oscar-winner for "The English Patient") and the bluegrass-inspired soundtrack (produced by T-Bone Burnett, Grammy-winner for "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"), there's plenty to admire about "Cold Mountain." Though flawed at times, it earns its Oscar pedigree as a holiday moviegoing experience that's worth climbing...and if nothing else, it will surely take your mind off fighting the crowds at the malls.

Scatt Mantz, 2003