Copperhead
Copperhead
PG | 28 June 2013 (USA)
Copperhead Trailers

A family is torn apart during the American Civil War. Abner Beech (Billy Campbell), a righteous farmer from upstate New York, exercises his right to free speech in a time when families are divided by the Civil War.

Reviews
Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
UnowPriceless hyped garbage
Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.
Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
Emily5898 Seeing the difference between how those acted who agreed or disagreed with the actions of the war was quite interesting to compare. Depending on how you felt also affected your interactions and feelings of others, which makes sense. But also then families had strict rules with interactions between children. Enlisting I'm the army was a common thing, but also heartbreaking to families during this war to see the goodbyes that took place was saddening, families, parents, significant others leaving. As many kids do, the child of the "Copperhead", rebels and joins the army. The differences between Democrats and republicans seem very extreme. After a devastating disaster and this time it wasn't the death of a soldier, the families become even more heartbroken. "War is a fever." The acting in this movie was well done and the setting fit well for the time period, also helped to better understand what was going on then. Living in Upstate New York, it's interesting to see what where I live might have looked like during the war. The music in the movie was an excellent representative of what Army bands played while marching. The storyline does not focus on the lives of the soldiers and the bloodiness of the war, but those at home, how the war affected the regular citizens, in the north.
Tony Heck "Springtime 1862, that's when the war came home and nothing was ever the same again." Abner Beech (Campbell) is a Copperhead, a northern Democrat who is against the Civil War. He tries to raise his son Jeff the same way. Like most kids do he rebels and decides to join the army and marches off to war. When the war begins to escalate the town, led by Jee Hagadorn (Macfadyen) starts to fully turn on Abner. Things only get worse for him from then on. I am a huge history buff and love Civil War stuff. I was a little leery about this going in though. For me the Civil War movie peaked with Glory and hit an all time low with Gods and Generals (which is easily one of the worst movies I have ever seen). Since this was a lower budget movie I was expecting to be bored with this. I was very wrong. This is a different type of war movie. While it takes place during the war this one deals with the families and those left behind rather then the soldiers. This really shows how the war affected everyone, and the neighbor vs neighbor or brother vs brother aspect is really shown here. I do have to say though that this would have been better as a mini-series rather then a movie. Overall, the best Civil War movie to come out in a long time. Has the feel of North and South but to me this was better. I give this a B+
RTTerry Copperhead offers an alternative to movies of late, which are inundated with CGI special affects and machine-gun pacing. It is a welcome departure from the current Hollywood format; however that alone does not make it as appealing as it could have been.Copperhead's storyline development is more suited as a TV mini-series drama, with a strong emphasis on the dialog and drama–period. The acting alone does not save the film, despite the fact the script is exceptional well done and true to the period, as is expected from director Ron Maxwell. After an hour and a half of character development and setting the stage, the final thirty minutes of the movie leaves you wishing there was more to it. The movie ends as it started–relaxed and waiting for something more.The acting and cinematography is worthy of note, but the screenplay-pacing is not enough to propel the film. A little extra effort and this could have been a classic film.
Peter Schaeffer My daughter and i saw this movie a few days ago. We loved it. It is a great period piece exploring Northern opinion during the Civil War. One town in the North (upstate New York), is divided between Southern sympathizers and fervent abolitionists. Note that this is not a war movie in the traditional sense of the phrase. No great battles are depicted and no leading generals are in sight. This is a political and emotional story of the war on the homefront.All of the characters are well drawn and express their views without restraint. The movie is built around a love story between a boy (Casey Thomas Brown as Casey Brown) whose father (Billy Campbell as Abner Beech) opposes the war and a girl (Lucy Boynton as Esther Hagadorn ) whose father (Angus Macfadyen as Jee Hagadorn) is a religious abolitionist fanatic. The boy volunteers to join the army, along with many other young men from the town. With the young men off at war, conflicts threaten to tear the town apart and in some respects do.The war itself is far away, but shows up as casualty lists are posted in the newspapers (and eventually as the dead and wounded return). The scenes of family members scanning the lists of dead, wounded, and missing looking for their sons, brothers, fathers, etc. are as sad, as they historically accurate.The battles in the town end with both tragic and positive consequences. The movie if beautifully filmed and well acted. A great piece of American history. Well worth seeing.