Brokeback Mountain

Posted by Greg

February 28, 2008

Rocky Mountain Sigh

**** out of *****

I remember back in 1997, I went to the theater to see The Jackal, with Bruce Willis and Richard Gere. There’s a scene where Willis, as the Jackal, has to kiss a gay man during a con he’s pulling, and I remember being alarmed by the severity of “Agggghhhh!!!” that went up when they shared a split-second lip peck. Granted that was in Calgary, Alberta, the whitest, red-neckest city around (ironically, the same place where Brokeback Mountain was filmed), but it was still a bit over the top. At any rate, it seems that a Hollywood movie with A-list stars that deals in detail with gay cowboys seems to present the fact that we’ve come a long way with equality issues since that time, and I can’t imagine a better movie being the one to bring it this far. Actually, for me to call it a ‘gay cowboy’ movie is a bit shallow and crude; kind of like calling Lawrence of Arabia a ‘movie about sand.’

In the early 60’s, Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) meet when they’re hired to work for Joe Aguirre (Dennis Quaid) as sheep herders for the summer. Alone up in the mountains, the two slowly grow closer as friends as they shoot coyotes, build campfires and move the herd around the rugged countryside. One frosty night after a bottle of whiskey, they share a sleeping bag, where their relationship crosses a line that neither of them were expecting. Confused at first, their relationship grows deeper over the next few months, and when it’s time to come down off the mountain before winter hits, they’re both forced to ignore their feelings and return to their ‘normal’ lives.

Marriage and kids come to both of them as their lives follow not the path they want, but the path that’s expected of two rugged cowboys living on the prairies. After several years apart, Jack makes contact with Ennis, and all the old feelings come rushing back. The two decide to stay in touch and retire several times a year into the mountains for fishing trips, even though they never come back with any fish.

Over the next decade or so, the two settle into a barely-comfortable routine of hiding their true selves behind the lives that others expect them to have. But the years take their toll, as family obligations, emotional commitments and the bumps and bruises of time force them to eventually wonder which life they want to leave behind.

The audience I saw this movie with laughed at the first sex-scene between the two, which surprised me until I realized that it was probably (hopefully) out of timidity. As the movie progressed, the laughs got fewer and quieter as the audience was drawn further into these two characters’ lives by some expert storytelling. Be warned though, Ledger and Gyllenhaal took some risks making this, and there are few punches pulled when it comes to filming the physical side of things. Some people can handle it, some can’t.

The thing that truly the makes this movie worth watching is the searing performances by the two leads, both truly deserving of their Oscar nominations. Gyllenhaal is fantastic as Jack, confident in being whoever he wants to be, other people’s opinions be damned. His character is the more sensitive of the two, which is clear when he’s with his wife (Anne Hathaway) and family. To him, love is love no matter who it is; he cares for all those in his life, but has never found anyone that makes him feel the way that Ennis did.

I was totally blown away by Ledger as Ennis, a quiet, strong loner who never says more than he has to. He’s had a hard life and has never used nor even required the emotional tools that he needs to deal with his feelings toward Jack. Ledger uses his body language and voice with subtle ferocity that’s hard to believe. Several scenes between him and his wife Alma (Michelle Williams) are almost hard to watch, they’re so intense. Outstanding work.

The movie might be criticized for being a bit too long at over two hours, but director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, The Hulk) keeps things very close to Jack and Ennis, never letting our attention stray from these two intensely likeable, believable characters forced to live a heartbreaking lie that’s been built up to make others happy. A superb supporting cast helps as well.

The biggest compliment I can give the movie is this: like it or not, male-male romance is still a pretty major taboo, especially for mass-cinema. But the movie is so well made, so terrifically acted and totally absorbing that by the end of it, the fact that you have two dudes in love barely registers. Their relationship feels at least as real as any male-female pairing I’ve seen in a long time.

A powerfully acted movie about love and denial, of tradition and rebellion that stayed with me long after I left the theater. A must see.

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