Not bad for a 4 hour film

I can understand why this failed at the box office and in the theaters; where people with the attention span of goldfish start reaching for their phone after 15 seconds, but as a movie to watch on your own time in your own pace; it holds up pretty well after a little shaky start.

I must disclaim that I don't know anything about the American Civil War; apart from the fact that it was a nasty war and about that slavery business; it is probably for the best the Union won. Otherwise, every movie claiming to be absolutely 'truthful' about a war has to be taken with a grain of salt. For some reason the moral high ground in the film does seem to be occupied by the Confederacy; as a film about the conflict it simply didn't investigate enough the reasons for or indeed why the war started. We simply see Lee refusing command of the US. army in an opening scene and that's about it as to politics. Indeed the war just starts and everything else from that point onwards could be seen as propaganda seen from one side or the other.

But - it is as a character portrait of general Stonewall Jackson and an investigation of the early course of the war itself where this movie really starts to shine. I found Stephen Lang's portrayal of a man who at one hand is a devout Christian given to compassion and prayer and on the other a merciless general; how those elements mixed up in him to be very interesting and compelling. The film does lean very heavily on his shoulders for depth and psychology, even Robert Duvall's general Lee story seem to be unable to do anything but to orbit around Jackson's character. There are a lot of long speeches and prayers going out left right and centre; but like Jackson the movie stands alone in the room like an antiquated piece of furniture and is very comfortable doing just that; being weird and slow and spiritual compared to our modern sensibilities. I liked that eccentricity about the film.

Second; the battle scenes are just excellent, beautifully shot and choreographed and by the looks of it; historically accurate. Most movies can just afford about one large scale encounter; here you have a whole campaign. If you like that sort of stuff here's an abundance. Little details like fraternization at Christmas between forces, the Irish ending up fighting their own down to the music and plays they enjoyed at the time really adds to the dimension of conflict. We also see examples where the bad decision making of high-end generals mean certain death for the foot soldier. As a side note; as a European I admit to having had an image of the southern armies being a provincial rabble; I can see clearer now that they had some excellent leadership and quality to them; it was a refreshing revelation to me.

The entirety of this film is a strange nest of different storylines weaving in all sorts of different directions. I liked the inclusion of Chamberlain's story. It may seem an odd match up against Jackson's story; but they were both teachers and fought out of a sense of duty to their country. The film also includes a play with in the play, where we see actors playing actors playing at war within a war. It's a nod to us the audience about what we ourselves see on film; that we have a responsibility to make our own minds up about who was right or wrong. Everyone was playing some part in that war and we all project our own thoughts and fears into a story. I am not one for glorification and I am fully aware that the film may have a rosy-tinted view of the Southern states in the war; but I wasn't watching it for political reasons. As a slow-paced war film to watch in your own time while pondering about the human consequence of conflict; it is time well spent and enjoyable too.