Ride with the Devil

Ang Lee’s first foray into the American West is a clear-eyed, complex look at the savage guerrilla warfare of Bleeding Kansas during the Civil War. It centers on a group of wild young secessionists, with Tobey Maguire leading a rich ensemble that includes Skeet Ulrich, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Jewel. Jeffrey Wright joins the cause as Daniel Holt, a formerly enslaved man who was freed by his childhood friend and now fights alongside him for the South. Ride with the Devil revels in messy emotions and human contradictions like the ones that guide Holt—even as it barrels towards its bloody conclusion in Lawrence, Kansas.