Copperhead (2013)

A lot of fun.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It's certainly not a movie I'd recommend if it's your first Civil War movie. Start with a crowd pleaser like Glory instead. The movie has a lot to say about war and peace, but it's hardly a good introduction to anti-war movies. Start with a winner like Hacksaw Ridge instead. This movie isn't in the same league with either of those great war movies.About the only other valid criticisms you could make are: 1) The first 3/4 of the movie is a bit slow moving, and could have been more dramatic. 2) The quality of the sound was a bit lacking, which is unfortunate when the use of dialect already makes the words a bit hard to follow.As other reviewers have said, it's great especially because it's different from most Civil War movies, showing the way a war can tear a country apart almost as much on the home front as it does on the battlefield.But part of the reason I loved it so much is that I find myself in agreement with the film's disparaged "Copperhead." While slavery is unbelievably cruel and inhumane, ending slavery in 1865 just wasn't worth the terribly high cost in blood. Brazil was the last country where slavery was legal in the Western Hemisphere, and they ended it in 1888. So even if the Civil War had never been fought, slavery in the South would almost certainly have ended by then anyway. If America had split into two countries, why would this have been so wrong? This is a controversial point of view -- then and now -- but I was pleased to see it argued with such conviction in a very watchable movie.

Copperhead gives a look into the life of a small town in the North during the time of the civil war. The town is bitterly divided into political parties, the Republicans who are pro-war and the Democrats, or Copperheads, who are Northerners against the war. In a Romeo and Juliet inspired scenario, the daughter of a Republican falls in love with the son of a Democrat. To gain the blessing of her father, the boy goes off to fight in the war, against the will of his own father. Though the story is historical fiction, many aspects of the time and of the war are portrayed accurately, with an abundance of historical details. Whether you're a history lover, a student, or just bored, you'll love this romantic yet heart-wrenching film.

Copperhead (2013): Dir: Ron Maxwell / Cast: Billy Campbell, Angus Macfadyen, Casey Thomas Brown, Lucy Boynton, Peter Fonda: Disappointing Civil War drama about how we label those whom do not share our views. It regards a feud between two families. We have a farmer, played by Billy Campbell who has two sons although one is all but neglected while the other disappoints him when he begins dating the daughter of his rival. It also doesn't help matter when this son rebels and heads off to fight in the war. Angus Macfadyen plays the rival, a preachy type who operates a factory that makes barrels. Casey Thomas Brown plays the older son of Campbell whose views differ from his father's, and Lucy Boynton plays his love interest whose father disapproves. This all sounds good accept that when a film is advertized as a Civil War film it should deliver something that resembles a war film. What director Ron Maxwell presents is a corny drama with lame romantic elements that have all the appeal of a bad TV movie. Maxwell previously made Gettysburg and Little Darlings and here he combines elements of both and fails miserably. The acting is atrocious with lines bellowed out like an attention yearning stage play. Even a veteran actor like Peter Fonda got sucked into this charade with little to do. The screenplay works, for the most part, up until the corny ending where everyone comes together with a lesson learned. The only lesson learned is viewers attended a film themed with "love thy neighbor" while wondering when the actual Civil War footage would emerge. Score: 4 / 10

"Copperhead" is a very thoughtful film, lovingly photographed in the lush upper New York countryside with an authenticity that is worthy of a documentary. It is a story too often ignored--that of those in the North who opposed the Civil War and the effect it had on their communities. Slow paced and deliberate, to some it may seem too lacking in action or drama for a film about the American Civil War. If you want sentimentality, see "Gone With the Wind" and if you want action see "Glory," both fine films. But if you want a sincere look at the Union home front and a look at those who opposed the war and why, see "Copperhead." Now we need a good film about the Southerners who opposed the war, for there were many of them, my ancestors included.