Brokeback Mountain — Review
You go into a movie like this and obviously you are going to have some preconceptions. Well my preconceptions were misconceptions. . .
This movie is a love story pure and simple. Maybe that’s where some people have difficulty. They expect to see queeny men in superficial relationships. Isn’t that how Holywood usually does it? Take a difficult subject and inject humor into it to make it tolerable? (Will & Grace, La Cage aux Folles). Ang Lee doesn’t do that, the writer’s (Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana) don’t do that, the short story by Annie Proulx, doesn’t do that.
What you get is a really beautiful, albeit, tragic story of 2 people have have a very deep love for each other but simply cannot act upon it. This story could very easily be an opposite sex story, think of the film “Same Time Next Year” as an example. 2 People in love living separate lives except for some stolen moments each year. That’s tragic.
Let’s also talk about the acting here, really wonderful. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger are both really compelling to watch, truly bringing these characters to life. Jake’s “Jack Twist” is a light on the surface and dark on the inside character, struggling to answer the question: “Who am I?” Aren’t we all asking this question? The context might be different but the question remains. . . Heath Leger’s portrayl of tough, quick hitting and hard working Ennis Del Mar is really nothing short of breathtaking! There is such depth in this character and Health rings it all out of him. (And out of the audience as well.) Randy Quaid’s turn as the Rancer/Boss Joe Aguirre is short but impactful, foreshadowing what will be the thoughts behind stares to come.
My suggestion, go see this movie. It may just open your eyes and open your heart, if you let it. . .
So back to where I began. The filmmaker’s were very brave to make this film. People who are viewed as “different” are still beaten to death with tire irons in this day and age. Not in Iraq, here. A film like this, made honestly, performed honestly and speaking honestly, offers us all a glimmer of hope. When we as a people, become comfortable with a group, ethnicity, or sexual preference, we, as a whole, become more tolerable. Will and Grace is a safe answer, but Brokeback Mountain is far more honest. . .
