Set in Missouri and Kansas during the Civil War, the story follows Jack Bull (Skeet Ulrich) and Jake (Tobey Maguire). They join the Confederate-sympathizing Bushwhackers after abolitionist Jayhawkers kill Jack’s father.  Among their new comrades is Holt (Jeffrey Wright), a former slave who is fighting for the South.  Eventually, the young men join up with guerrilla-leader William Quantrill for his bloody raid on Lawrence, Kansas.

CRITIQUE

This is not your typical Civil War movie.  Unlike other films about this dark time in America’s history, Ride With the Devil deals with the war on a strictly local level, rather than the overall conflict.

Here we have neighbors and long-time friends fighting a guerrilla war, murdering each other with the utmost sociopathic cruelty.  There are no rules, no code of honor, thus even the innocent are slaughtered by the opposite side, just because they can be.  War, according to director Ang Lee and screenwriter James Schamus, who adapted a book by Daniel Woodrell, robs men of their souls.

In one sequence, for example, Maguire, who seems to be about the only member of the Bushwhackers who has a conscience, arranges for his former neighbor (Mark Ruffalo), a Union prisoner facing execution, to be released so that he can carry a message back to his superiors. Ruffalo returns the favor by immediately returning home and murdering Maguire’s non-combatant father.

Perhaps the most interesting character in the film is Holt, the former slave played by Wright.  He is not fighting for any “cause,” but to be with his childhood friend (Simon Baker) who bought him from his master and gave him his freedom.  None of the other Missouri men are, in fact, really fighting for any reason other than hate and revenge.

The battle scenes, particularly the raid on Lawrence, Kansas, are brutal and not for the squeamish.

Ride With the Devil is an engrossing film with interesting characters, fine performances and some unexpected plot turns.  My only problem with it is its length.  For this Criterion release, director Lee reinserted approximately 14 minutes of footage that had been cut from the 1999 theatrical release. 

Lee, who has done an excellent job of recreating the Civil War era, is certainly a fine director, but those scenes were cut for a reason.

THE VIDEO

The widescreen picture is sharp, and the scenery looks magnificent.

THE AUDIO

The Surround Sound is crisp and without problems.

THE EXTRAS

Two audio commentaries, one featuring director Lee and producer-screenwriter Schamus, and the other with cinematographer Frederick Elmes, sound designer Drew Kunin and production designer Mark Friedberg.

A new video interview with Jeffrey Wright

The set also contains a large booklet with several essays about the film and its historical background.

FINAL THOUGHT

This is a well-made, slightly overlong, Civil War drama; somewhat different and quite entertaining.