Yesterday I went to an afternoon matinee of the movie "Brokeback Mountain." If you haven't seen this movie, folks, please go and see it. You won't regret it. First, not only do I consider it one of the best stories told on film, but it will also irritate the hell out of the puritanical boneheads who blow a gasket every time a film comes out that they don't like. Hey, it's why I went to see Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.
I've been thinking about the film since yesterday, and I just wanted to share some of my thoughts with you, dear readers.
more below the flip
Coined the "gay cowboy movie," Brokeback Mountain went into wide release after garnering 4 Golden Globe awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Song. I had to go see it. Not only was I curious about a film about gay cowboys, but Michelle Williams (formerly of Dawson's Creek) is in it.
The story revolves around two young men--Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist-- who work for a summer 1n 1963 tending sheep on beautiful and isolated Brokeback Mountain. There, sparks fly and the two fall in love. Ennis calls it a "one shot deal" and when the summer ends, the men part ways and try to leave their feelings back on the mountain. Each marries a woman and both have children. However, they cannot stay away from each other for long and so set about having a twenty year affair, meeting up a few times a year under the auspices of of being fishing buddies.
This is the stuff of Romeo and Juliet. Forbidden love, desire, and ultimate tragedy. They cannot deny their love any more than they can fully recognize it. Set against the magnificently beautiful backdrop of Wyoming, the two lead actors embody their characters without apology or self-consciousness. While Jake Gyllenhal's performance is solid, Heath Ledger's performance in particular stands out as a seminal moment in film history. Butch and silent, tragic and vulnerable, Ledger manages to perfectly balance the tough, quiet cowboy who drinks and fights too much with the repressed sadness of a gay man who can never accept his homosexuality much less live an openly gay lifestyle. Everything about Ledger's performance is perfect, from his posture to his deep, tightlipped voice. One not only believes his performance but becomes mesmerized by it, lost in this complex character of few words. So much is done with a look that words are rarely necessary.
Speaking of words, I can honestly say that I have never seen a movie so unique, so courageous, and so honest at the same time. The writing here is perfect. Larry McMurty, who adapted this from Annie Proulx's 1997 short story, doesn't disappoint. Every line spoken has meaning, and the story plays out not as some generic gay tragedy with political overtones but as an epic love story, which is perhaps why the actors are able to give such brilliant performances.
Of special note is Michelle Williams, who cut her teeth as the bad seed Jen Lindley from Dawson's Creek. Perhaps the most vulnerable of all the characters, Williams plays Alma, Ennis' wife. She could easily be overlooked in light of the potent chemistry between the lovers Jack and Ennis, but Williams manages to hold captive her audience (okay, me) with just a penetrative glance.
And lest I forget how a competent director can bring out stellar performances in his actors, I throw major kudos Ang Lee's way. He doesn't back off for a second or apologize at all. He tells a story of love, old as literature itself, and he tells it by allowing the landscape, the characters, and their chemistry play out unfettered. Sometimes getting out of the way of a great performance is a director's best choice, and Lee knows just when and how to do this.
Yes, some of the sex scenes can seem a little rough, but they're cowboys, uncommunicative roughnecks; their sex reflects that. But there is also an urgency to it that is universal and later, a tenderness that shows just how much the two men love and need each other.
This was a movie that I was in no hurry to have end. I wanted the experience of watching and feeling what was going on on the screen. I left the movie theatre with my wife, and all I could say was "That was one of the most remarkable, groundbreaking films I've ever seen."
Predictions: Brokeback Mountain will earn at least five Academy Award nominations for the following categories: Best picture, adapted screenplay, director, Best actor (Ledger) and supporting actress (Williams).