Brokeback Mountain (Vague spoilers)
I cried. Twice.
What an amazingly beautiful and tragic movie. One of the best love stories I've seen in a long time. In fact, I'd say that it'd be on the short list of great American love stories ever told on film. Not that the film is perfect, it's not. And I can't even say that it was an enjoyable experience watching the movie. It wasn't enjoyable so much as it was powerful and poignant. After the credits started rolling, I sat there with my best friends, and wiped away my tears and wallowed in the sense of loss and helplessness that the movie left me with.
The thing about this movie is that I've never seen a love story like this before, but at the same time at it's core, it's similar to all forbidden love stories that have been told for decades. The main difference is that the love here feels more real. And I mean "real" in the sense that there aren't any grand declarations of love, no schmaltzy love-making, no dramatic double suicides. "I love you" is never uttered by the two lovers in this film. In fact, Jack and Ennis spend more time yelling profanities at each other than they do holding each other. But the love is always there. In the eyes, the look, the glance, the touch. Always under the surface, but you can still feel its presence.
I found the story of Ennis and Jack to be more tragic than Romeo and Juliet ever was.
Two loney cowboys in the 1960s who know they have found in each other the love of their lives, but who are absolutely at a loss as to how to deal with it. Nothing in their poor, uneducated lives had taught them that to be gay was ok. They're completely unprepared for this, and fear of societal punishment as well as fear of this "thing that grabs hold" of them dooms their relationship. They're victims of circumstance, and even if they wanted to, it would have taken more than they had inside of themselves to push their relationship to a point where they could truly have been happy.
I can't get over how amazing Heath Ledger was in this film. He was staggering, nothing short of staggering. I can name very few actors who could bring such intensity and passion to such a quiet and subtle role. He rivals Marlon Brando at his best, with this role. If the oscar should go to any other actor this year, it would be unjust.
There is one scene near the end of the film between Jack and Ennis which was phenomenal. You'll know it when you see it.
The thing I absolutely detested about watching the movie was the fact that 80% of the audience broke out into peals of laughter everytime Ennis and Jack kissed/hugged/said anything remotely tender. It got to the point where I had to turn around and "shush" people. I shushed a 40 year old woman. How messed up is that? The thing that grated me was that if it were a man and a woman, or even a woman and a woman who were taking off each other's clothes, who the hell would be laughing? Entirely inappropriate, immature, rude, and it seriously diminished my enjoyment of the film.
The movie is slow, subtle, and character driven so don't expect any grand gestures of love, or action packed sequences. But it's beautiful, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to see a wonderfully made film with a brilliant cast and a touching story.
Brokeback Mountain should and probably will be the Best Picture winner of 2005. It's about time this story was told.
