Ride with the Devil

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DVD cover of Ride with the Devil.

Ride with the Devil is a 1999 American Civil War drama directed by Ang Lee. The film starred Tobey Maguire, Jeffrey Wright, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and folk/pop singer Jewel.

The film was meant to be a summer blockbuster and it cost over US$35,000,000 to produce (a large sum for most Westerns). However, it received negative press after screenings. It was released on around 140 screens in the U.K. and made barely over £100,000. It was then released on 8 U.S. screens fetching only $64,000. It immediately went to video and DVD and as of 2003 had yet to turn a profit. The film has since been critically re-evaluated, and is seen as a significant work in the career of Ang Lee.

It is based on the novel Woe to Live On, by Daniel Woodrell and the screenplay was written by James Schamus.

[edit] Plot synopsis

Jake Roedel (Tobey Maguire) and Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich) are friends in Missouri when the Civil War starts. Jack Bull's dad is killed by Kansas union jayhawkers. The two boys join the Missouri irregulars known as "bushwhackers" or "border ruffians" – informal units loyal to Missouri, not willing to fight someone else's war in Virginia. They meet George Clyde (Simon Baker) and his former slave Daniel Holt (Jeffrey Wright), whom he granted his freedom. They battle using guerrilla tactics and hide out during the winter months. Jack and Sue Lee (Jewel Kilcher), widowed daughter-in-law to the man that is hiding them, become lovers. When Jack dies in a skirmish, Jake escorts Sue Lee south to a safe farm. The bushwhackers, led by William Quantrill, make a raid into Lawrence, Kansas. In the midst of the raid a quarrel arises between Jake and fellow bushwacker Pitt Mackeson (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). For the remaining part of the film Jake fears for his life. Towards the end of the film the two meet again. Pitt tells of their mutual friends who were hanged in Dover, Kansas, and in a roundabout way Pitt tells of his intentions to meet a similar fate in his nearby hometown.