Cold Mountain

A 1997 novel by Charles Frazier (made into a film in 2003 starring Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, and Jude Law) which tells the story of Ada Monroe, who moves from Charleston to rural Cold Mountain with her aging (and ailing) father for his health, and W.P. Inman, a terse but goodhearted young man. Just as Ada and Inman seem to be developing a relationship, Inman leaves to fight for the Confederate Army and, after being wounded in battle, decides to desert and walk through often hostile territory to get back home to Ada. Meanwhile, Ada's father has died and she must learn how to survive on her own.

So, as Inman is Walking the Earth to return to Ada, frequently encountering the worst and the downright bizarre of human nature, Ada learns slowly how to manage a farm with the blunt assistance of Ruby, a no-nonsense country girl, whose own drunk layabout father drops in from time to time

Contains examples of:
 * A Date With Rosie Palms: in the book. Inman's gone for a long time and Ada gets lonely.
 * Abusive Parents: Stobrod, along with (and probably because of) being an Alcoholic Parent.
 * Adaptation Dye Job: Ada and Ruby are both brunettes in the book and blonde in the movie.
 * American Accents: Dixie, specifically.
 * The American Civil War
 * Oscar Bait: nominated for seven Oscars and won for Best Supporting Actress (Renee Zellweger as Ruby.)
 * Babies Ever After:
 * Big Beautiful Woman: Big Tildy, a popular hooker "as big as a man."
 * California Doubling: The film was mostly shot in Romania, as the real South has too many paved roads and telephone wires.
 * Calling the Old Man Out: Ruby, in a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
 * The Cameo: Jack White as Georgia.
 * Daddys Girl: Ada
 * Determined Widow: Sarah
 * Death By Sex: If the clothes come off, something bad is about to happen to somebody.
 * Did Do the Research: principally in regard to dramatizingThe Battle of the Crater.
 * Died in Your Arms Tonight:
 * Disappeared Dad: Ruby, Inman
 * Evil Albino: Boisie
 * Fake American: virtually the whole cast.
 * Fourth Date Marriage: Ada and Inman both admit they haven't interacted much
 * Greek Mythology: While not directly referencing the epic, the story closely follows that of The Odyssey, with the setting, context and names changed.
 * Her Heart Will Go On:
 * Heterosexual Life Partners:  eventually turn into this..
 * Hypocrite: Veasey. He's a priest and repeatedly lectures people about doing things the godly way, yet impregnated a woman out of wedlock, attempted to drown her, and repeatedly messes around with other women throughout the rest of his time in the book, not including all of the other underhanded stuff he does.
 * Intelligence Equals Isolation: Ada, moreso in the novel than the film.
 * I Will Fight No More Forever: Inman uses this as an explanation for why he's willing to let Boisie go instead of just shooting him
 * I Will Wait for You: Ada
 * Marshmallow Hell: Done to Inman by a black woman.
 * Missing Mom: Ada's, Inman's, and presumably Ruby's mothers are all dead.
 * Not Good With People: Sally Swanger remarks that Inman normally "wouldn't say boo to a goose."
 * Now or Never Kiss: Inman's about to head to war, so he plants one on Ada despite having only spoken with her a few times.
 * Orphans Ordeal:
 * Plucky Girl: Ruby is this Up to Eleven, having had to fend for herself virtually all her life..
 * Shell Shocked Veteran: Inman.
 * Shown Their Work: Particularly in the book.
 * Screw This I'm Outta Here: Inman deserts after being shot in the neck and receiving Ada's letter asking him to come back to her.
 * Sinister Minister: Reverend Veasey is not only an adulterer, but he almost drowns a slave woman who is pregnant with his illegitimate child.
 * Small Girl Big Gun: Ruby, Ada, and Sarah all carry shotguns or rifles for hunting and/or self-defense, compared to Inman and his standard-issue military pistol.
 * Someone to Remember Him By
 * Snow Means Death
 * Spoiled Sweet: Ada comes from an entirely different social echelon than her rural neighbors in Cold Mountain but is actually quite humble.
 * Southern Belle: Ada
 * Strange Girl: Ada is regarded as this when she first moves to Cold Mountain, due to her habits picked up from living in the city and from her father.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Ruby and Ada, respectively.
 * Tsundere: Ruby. She's brash, if not quite a Jerkass, and pretends not to care about Georgia or her father but is really quite a softie.
 * Voiceover Letter: opens the film.
 * Young Gun: Bosie