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Having scrutinised Austen's rarified society in Sense And Sensibility and
dissected Seventies sexual mores in The Ice Storm, director Ang Lee was unlikely
to come up with a standard take on the US Civil War. Thus Ride With The Devil
approaches its canvas from an intriguing point of view. A motley collection of young
Southerners form a guerrilla band to bushwack Union soldiers. Their actions are
complicated by the shifting relationships of a group that includes a German/American
and a black Southerner. Add a love triangle and Lee's intentions become clear: an epic
study of relationships set against one of the most turbulent moments in American history.
A very fine film.
Neil Norman
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