Roger Ebert's Comment on "Riding with the Devil"

Domenick 2022-01-17 08:02:23

"Riding with the Devil" is the first American Civil War movie in my memory that doesn't act as an afterthought. The characters in the film seem strange: they don't know that the North will eventually win the war, but they don't care much. There is a saying that all politics are partial, but this film thinks that some wars are also partial. The story takes place in Missouri, the only slave state that supports the Confederate government. The protagonist is a small group of guerrillas, including a black man, who fight for the South but have their own minds.

The film is directed by Ang Lee, a talented director who was born in Taiwan and studied in Illinois ("Sense and Emotion", "Ice Storm"). He has an insight into the nature of the American Civil War from an outsider's perspective. Based on the historical novel of Daniel Woodril, the story of "Riding with the Devil" centers on the southwestern Missouri region. The local guerrillas launched a guerrilla war against the Confederate army (also known as the eagle). This is basically a local war about neighbours' private enmity, and has nothing to do with ideology.

The focus of the story is mainly on the four guerrillas: Jake Roedel (Toby Maguire), Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich), George Clyde (Don Shanks) and the liberated Nigger Daniel Holt (Jeffrey White). The film begins with a farm wedding, attended by all four. Later, the farm was raided by eagles and its owner was killed. Four people witnessed the whole process.

Roedel and Chiles want revenge. Clyde is a southerner who has always believed in the traditional values ​​of the South, but he gave Holt freedom for various complicated reasons. Holt's motives are the most puzzling. Why would a black man who was once a slave fight for the South? He said that this was out of personal loyalty to Clyde, because the latter liberated him, and said "I trust him every day." It may also be because of the friendship with his companions. But Holt said very little about it, only his eyes seemed to make a silent evaluation of what he saw and heard. We are looking forward to the whole film, hoping that he can reveal the deepest thoughts in his heart.

History is written by victors. The South also has its own historical recorder, but before this film, I have never seen such a civil war story: focusing on the local personal feelings, focusing on the personal motives that they can’t tell, even if they are essentially a group of people. Young people are just forced to take up arms and fight in their homeland. To some extent, they are just practicing self-defense. The film is obviously more interested in their personalities than in their adventures-but it does not clearly indicate their motivations. Characters don't really understand their emotions, but they have to show corresponding behaviors. There is nothing more difficult than this.

The film seems slow and calm—perhaps too slow. It starts with the appearance of the mysterious protagonist, and then asks them to spend most of their time in the hiding spot on the mountain (they never thought that if they plug the gap between the wood, the house might be warmer). They had a long conversation, but it was more like preaching than daily conversation.

Their hideout was on the land of a Missouri family, who supported the Confederate government. Soon, Chiles fell in love with Sue Lee (Pearl), a widow in the village. For the sake of the film's artistic quality, the story is not limited to the traditional romance film routines, but arranges the desperate Chiles and Sue Lee to escape from the unbearable situation. The film has some cruel passages, such as heavy wounds, amputations and desperate armed attacks...

The cast and crew involved in this film are top-notch. The lens of Frederick Elmes (photographer, "Ice Storm") is good at expressing cold and wet. The actors are well integrated into their roles-without exposing their omniscient attitude as a modern person. The black slave played by Jeffrey White (starring in "Fatty Years") has some charm. He is always tight-lipped and never advertises himself. Pearl is worthy of praise, very simple, because of her convincing and unpretentious way of acting. Here, she is a real actor, not a pop singer trying new hobbies. Ulrich is also very good, although Toby Maguire’s tone-nervous, introverted, restrained-started to annoy me a bit, especially in the subsequent "The Law of Cider House", I think it is It's time for him to play a dumb boy (not that I want to see it, but to clear the spider web).

It can be seen that Ang Lee and his old partner James Shamus are trying to find something serious. "Riding with the Devil" did not receive the recognition of traditional film awards, did not simplify the complicated situation, and did not compromise with business. Unfortunately, it is not a very interesting movie. It is a long suffering, unless you can discover the mystery hidden in it. It is the kind of film that can arouse useful discussions in history classes, but for ordinary movie audiences, it is dull and cold.

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"Ride With the Devil" is the first Civil War film I can recall that is not told with the benefit of hindsight. It's about characters who don't know the North will win--and sometimes don't much seem to care. It's said that all politics are local; this movie argues that some wars are local, too. In Missouri, the only slave-holding state that sided with the Union, it tells the story of a small group of guerrillas with such complex personal motives that it even includes a black man who fights for the South.

The film has been made by Ang Lee, the gifted Taiwan-born, Illinois-educated director ("Sense And Sensibility," "The Ice Storm") who is able to see the Civil War from the outside. Based on a historical novel by Daniel Woodrell, the story of "Ride With the Devil" centers on southwestern Missouri, where the Missouri Irregulars, known as Bushwhackers, waged a hit-and-run fight against the Union troops, called Jayhawkers. This is basically a local war among neighbors with personal animosities and little interest in the war's ideological underpinnings.

We follow four Bushwhackers in particular: Jake Roedel (Tobey Maguire), Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich), George Clyde (Simon Baker-Denny) and the freed black slave Daniel Holt (Jeffrey Wright). The film opens with a farm wedding they attend; later they see the farm burned and its owners murdered in a Jayhawker raid.

Roedel and Chiles want revenge. Clyde, a Southerner, believes in Dixie values ​​and traditions, but is complex enough to have freed Holt, once his slave. Holt's motives are the most impenetrable. Why would a former slave fight for the South? He indicates it is out of personal loyalty to Clyde, who freed him and says he "trusts him with my life every day." Also perhaps because of a bond with his comrades. But Holt says little and his eyes often make a silent commentary on what he sees and hears; we wait through the film for a revelation of his deepest feelings.

History, it is said, is written by the victors. The Southern side has had its share of historians, too, but before this movie I had not seen a Civil War story about characters whose feelings are local and personal, whose motives were unclear even to themselves, who were essentially young men with guns forced to fight by the time and place they lived in. To some degree, they are only practicing self-defense. The movie is more interested in their personalities than their adventures--but not so interested that it makes their motives very clear. There is nothing quite so baffling as a character who acts from psychological reasons but possesses little insight into those buried feelings.

The movie is slow and deliberate--too slow. It begins with the enigma of heroes whose cause we do not share, and then has them spend much of their time hunched inside a hideout they have built into a hillside (where it never occurs to them that if they'd fill the chinks between the logs it might be warmer inside). They have long conversations, delivered in language that seems more suited to sermons and editorials than to everyday speech.

Their hideout is on the land of a Missouri family who supports the Confederacy, and soon Chiles is falling in love with Sue Lee (Jewel), a war widow. To give the film credit, it doesn't degenerate into a conventional romance, but plays both Chiles and Sue Lee as desperate in their own ways for an escape from an intolerable situation. There are also grim passages involving wounds, amputations and desperate armed raids.

The technical and acting credits are first rate. Frederick Elmes, who also shot "The Ice Storm," has an uncanny ability to evoke cold and damp. The actors do a good job of being contained by their characters--by not letting modern insights peek through. Jeffrey Wright, who starred in "Basquiat," is especially intriguing as the freed slave, who keeps his own counsel throughout the movie without sending out signals about what he's doing. Jewel deserves praise for, quite simply, performing her character in a convincing and unmannered way. She is an actress here, not a pop star trying out a new hobby. Ulrich is good, too, although Tobey Maguire's tone--tight, inward, controlled--is beginning to wear on me after this and "The Cider House Rules." It's time for him to make a dumb teenage comedy (not because I want to see it, but more to clear the cobwebs).

Watching the film, I could see that Ang Lee and his frequent collaborator, screenwriter James Schamus, were in search of something serious. "Ride With the Devil" does not have conventional rewards or payoffs, does not simplify a complex situation, doesn't punch up the action or the romance simply to entertain. But it is, sad to say, not a very entertaining movie; it's a long slog unless you're fascinated by the undercurrents. It's a film that would inspire useful discussion in a history class , but for ordinary moviegoers, it's slow and forbidding.

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Extended Reading
  • Edythe 2022-03-25 09:01:19

    In the 148-minute CC version, Ang Lee still feels comfortable shooting epic stories, but the core is the growth of a boy. In the Civil War, it was not the faith but the devil in the heart that contradicted ourselves and the enemy. The scheduling of the big scene is exemplary, an encirclement shootout and a head-to-head war scene are both classic. Although it is a war, the reflection is outside the play. Jack's freedom after putting down his gun is the meaning of the end of the civil war. At that time, Ang Lee had more humanistic care.

  • Weston 2022-03-16 09:01:07

    It ain't right, it ain't wrong. It's just what it is. The dualism of black and white is just something that people with ulterior motives create to fool their followers in order to achieve their own goals. Full of stamina. Ang Li said that this is his most underrated work, and he deeply agrees. It is also my favorite of all his movies.

Ride with the Devil quotes

  • Jake: [to a love-struck Jack Bull] There happens to be a war going on everywhere but between your two ears, you dumb ox.

  • Sue Lee Shelly: [breast feeding] You always gonna stare like that?

    Jake: Long as I can.