Undeveloped characters plague `Ride With the Devil’

In theaters

RIDE WITH THE DEVIL. Directed by Ang Lee. Written by James Schamus. Based on Daniel Woodrell’s novel “Woe to Live On.” Running time: 138 minutes. Rated R.

Not to be uncivilized, but Ang Lee’s Civil War drama “Ride With the Devil” isn’t nearly as thrilling as its title suggests.

The film is a dramatic wasteland, so coolly removed in spite of its ferocious, beautifully staged battles that one wishes Lee, the director of “Sense and Sensibility” and “The Ice Storm,” had loaded his musket with far richer characters and more entertaining material before firing any of this at the screen.

His film isn’t meant to be another “Gone With the Wind,” but it certainly could have used some of that film’s flash and spirit to spark its plodding script. The problem with “Devil” is just that — it has no emotional core and moves along with all the grace and liveliness of a hobbled Jayhawker.

The film follows Jake Roedel (Tobey Maguire) and Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich), two 1860s, pro-Southern bushwhackers who join Black John (James Caviezel) and a group of others in an effort to wage war against Union forces in the backroads and cornfields on the Kansas-Missouri border.

It’s a motley crew that includes the psychotic Pitt Mackerson (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), the effete George Clyde (Simon Baker) and Clyde’s dependable former slave, Holt (Jeffrey Wright), a man who willingly rises up against the North and attacks the very men fighting for the freedom of his people.

That proves historically accurate — some emancipated slaves did join their former owners in fighting the North — but Lee never gives us a glimpse into who Holt is. Like many of the film’s characters, he remains an enigma, his motives lost to battle.

With pop star Jewel cast as war widow Sue Lee Shelley, “Ride With the Devil” adds elements of sex, lust and love to its grisly mix, but she never creates a sufficient bond with the audience. That’s no fault of hers — Jewel’s performance is as good as anyone’s here — but a fault of Lee’s direction, which is too emotionally detached to capture the hearts and souls of his characters.

Grade: C-

On video

AN IDEAL HUSBAND. Directed and written by Oliver Parker. Based on the play by Oscar Wilde. Running time: 97 minutes. Rated PG-13.

With all of its mean-spirited wit, cruel one-liners and over-the-top camp, Oliver Parker’s excellent adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “An Ideal Husband,” feels as if it’s a late 19th century rendering of the television show “Dynasty.”

Indeed, all that’s missing here is a mud fight between its two female leads, Cate Blanchette’s too-good-to-be-true Gertrude Chiltern and Julianne Moore’s mincing and conniving Mrs. Cheveley.

The film is all high style, great costumes, strong acting and painstakingly detailed sets wrapped around a story of blackmail and manners, love and deception. It’s light, but it’s nevertheless fun, a smart addition to an otherwise stale week at video stores.

With Rupert Everett dashing as the meddling Lord Goring and Minnie Driver unforgettable in what could have been a throwaway role, “An Ideal Husband” is an ideal dose of mischief frequently sparked with extended moments of Wilde’s signature dialogue. Don’t miss it.

Grade: A-

Christopher Smith’s reviews appear each Monday and Thursday in the NEWS, each Tuesday and Thursday on WLBZ’s “NEWS CENTER 5:30 Today” and “NEWS CENTER Tonight,” and each Saturday and Sunday on NEWS CENTER’s statewide “Morning Report.”