I saw the movie, got the t-shirt, handed tissues to the crying boy next to me. I know that it’s an amazing film, and though some people say it’s too slow, I’m a huge fan. It’s unique and it’s something new and it’s a great story to see.
Loved it.
The movie starts very slowly. The two men, Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger), meet for the first time when they both are waiting at a ranching office, trying to find work. They don’t say anything to one another for the longest time, and this is in fact one of the beauties of the film because there is a sparcity to the dialogue. There seems to be a temptation to fill time with speech, with complex and pithy talking but Annie Proulx’s story doesn’t require this and luckily the producers of the film haven’t put this in. The life of the cowboy is clearly a solitary one, a concept that is pushed right to the end of the film with Ledger’s character never properly settling down, never really finding his feet and it’s not clear whether this is due to internal struggles with his own perception of self or because he is simply a solitary man.
However hard life is on the men involved, it must equally have been difficult for the families left to second-guess and wonder what is inside the mind of their father, son or husband. Michelle Williams as Alma Del Mar is fantastic in her depiction of the pain and suffering which comes with the second guessing of her husband’s double life. It becomes clear in time that the occasional postcards which Ennis receives from Jack are a sign to meet up for their ‘fishing weekends’ and in one shot Alma comes into the house struggling with groceries and picks up the mail to find one of these postcards contained among the assorted detritus. As she pulls the postcard out and turns it over, I was silently praying for her to throw it away, to burn it, to get rid of the evidence because, though we may have great sympathy for the men who can never speak of their love, the wife left behind gives the ultimate sacrifice. Her pain is unquenched, unfair and unwarranted.
The scenery of the film, set in Wyoming, though filmed in Canada perfectly frames the quiet struggles of all those involved. The stories told of the two ranchers who lived together and suffered at the hands of locals for it, the forthright negative reaction of ranching boss, played by Randy Quaid, who found out, and the risks associated with the ongoing love affair of the men while raising families all add to the sense of looming danger that matches the height and majesty of the scenery. Are the mountains meant to evoke the awesome climb that the men would have to face to gain recognition? Is there symbolism in the fact that they are so small in the face of things so big?
It’s a terribly haunting film in a way because there is a constant sense of loss even from the beginning. The pair can’t be honest with one another for a long time. They can’t talk about what they have, get past their upbringings and surroundings. As such their love will always be a broken one. Wilde’s thoughts of ‘a love that dare not speak its name’ echoed through my mind throughout the film and I wasn’t really hit by the horror of what really occurs until the next day. For though the film ends on a melancholy note, events do not unfold as one would expect and there is little happiness in the Wyoming wilderness. As a result you’re not really hit by what happens because it’s not dramatic in-your-face representations. Everything is hidden, slow, a little off-centre and in this way much like all of the rest of the film. This means, however, that it takes time to digest and the force of the tragedy takes time to sink in.The last flash image we catch of Jack is one that is not clear in its meaning. Is it imagination or reality? The fact that we don’t and can’t know only adds to the complexity of the story. In a place that is still very resistant to gay life even when it may bring economic strength, the cowboy life isn’t an accepting one.
All of this of course, couldn’t be possible without fantastic acting which is, in part, achieved by not overacting. All the performances are subtle and delicate, matching the reflective tone of the film. Anne Hathaway’s portrayal of Jack’s wife isn’t glam and gaudy as it could be for a Texan machinery vendor. There is very little Dolly Parton in her character and her eyes are full of fire and strength. There is an undercurrent to Lureen that is powerful and unafraid of her actions. The wives couldn’t be more different: Michelle Williams’ depiction of Ennis’ wife shows her eyes are constantly watering with tears and her face is constantly on the verge of melting. Not knowing where she is in her marriage or what to do has brought her to the edge one too many times and this shows in her face, a picture of pain. She is timid and afraid and after once catching the pair clutching one another, Alma never confronts her husband. She’s too broken to try. My favorite character was Ennis’ young daugher Alma Jr, who was played by Kate Mara. She is hardly featured in the film but her eyes are full of empathy and a kind of understanding. She has a rare beauty that’s soft and delicate which worked perfectly with her part. Of course Gyllenhaal and Ledger were excellent and this movie couldn’t have been made without their honesty and their performances. Gyllenhaal’s Jack appears to be more comfortable than Ennis in the skin of his sexually revolutionary character and his image is one of the good looking boy who becomes a good looking man. There is no ordinary ugly in him.Ledger was particularly good as, when watching, you never once think of him as Ledger the star because he doesn’t look like a star. He’s transformed into a bumbling, quiet, unassuming man who takes little from the world and puts very little back. He’s afraid of who he is.
It’s a great film to have been made, but it’s not the most enjoyable to watch. I loved it, and yet the idea of watching it again would honestly be a hard decision.
see also: Jennifer Makowsky at PopMatters on Brokeback Mountain
Popularity: 1% [?]
Wow! I didn’t know this film would attract politics nerds like you! Kidding, of course. It is, indeed, a very beautiful film. Some people have said (despite the abruptness of the first sex scene) that the film is a bit light sex-wise, a bit shy of showing us the realities of their relationship.
The feelings are there, though, subtle or explicit depending on the situation, and carefully framed by Ang Lee’s wonderful hand.
Did you feel sorry for their wives? At some point I wondered how they could be doing that to them… but then, you can’t change your heart. However, the film is proof of how repressive a society can be when men who love men are expected to marry women… to end up hurting their wives and themselves. I was afraid some people might do a conservative reading, though, and say that they were selfish and they should have stayed with their wives. Who knows!
Heath Ledger’s daughter was an adorable girl. I loved their special relationship, especially the scene when she tells him she’s engaged.
Anyway, off to have breakfast!
Alby xx