Image courtesy of www.impawards.com
Director :
Ang Lee
Cast :
Jake Gyllenhaal……….Jack Twist
Heath Ledger……….Ennis Del Mar
Michelle Williams……….Alma Beers Del Mar
Anne Hathaway……….Lureen Newsome Twist
Randy Quaid……….Joe Aguirre
When one takes a serious look at both television and movies there’s a relatively interesting trend that has been occurring over the last 30 years. Virtually ignored in the first half of the century, the acceptance of homosexuals in society has come at a much faster pace in the real world than it has on television. For all the acceptance and equality that has been shown in the real world so far, homosexuals never seem to get a fair shake on television. The most prominent gay character in recent memory has been the stereotype embracing Jack from Will & Grace. In a land where homosexual characters are few and far between, Brokeback Mountain is the first serious portrayal of a gay romance between two cowboys in 1960s Wyoming.
The film centers on Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal). Hired by Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid) to watch over some sheep grazing on Brokeback Mountain, the two men are quite opposites from the beginning. Ennis is a quiet man, raised by his siblings for most of his life. He’s used to being alone and doesn’t talk much. Jack works at other places in between helping out on his parents’ ranch. Stuck on the mountain together while they shepherd Aguirre’s flock of sheep, Ennis and Jack form a bond. On a cold night on the mountain Ennis ends up sleeping in the same tent as Jack and the bond goes from friendship into a sexual relationship. When they’re time on the mountain ends so does their relationship, as they have lives to get back to. Ennis is going to marry Alma (Michelle Williams) while Jack is going home. From here we follow them through the next 20 years of their lives, as Ennis has two daughters and Jack gets married to Lureen (Anne Hathaway) and fathers a son. But the sort of love they have for each other continues, as we see how they try and hide it (and their infrequent visitations with each other) from the world. It’s a majestic film that takes a serious look at its pair of lovers; they (and the audience) know that what they have they can’t keep except in those moments when they go “fishing.”
What makes the film so special is the romance itself. While Ledger and Gyllenhaal are generally the type to play the male lead in a romantic comedy, they have a wonderful chemistry with each other. They don’t play their characters as any sort of gay stereotype or as some sort of flirtation; this is a grand love affair, a passion they can’t capture anywhere else but with each other. There’s a certain ease they have together in tender embraces and emotional moments; it’s easy to believe they’re in love because there isn’t any sort of hesitation or awkwardness. They’re friends, they’re men and they’re lovers.
It’s a pair of amazing performances from the two as well. Ledger’s Ennis is a quiet man who’s seen the consequences of exposing himself and Jack’s relationship to the world. It’s a quiet strength as he tries to be a good father, a good husband and a good worker and seems to let the world haunt his path while Jack is a man who knows what we wants and knows that somehow he will never get it.
It doesn’t hurt that the film has a strong direction from Ang Lee. Lee wisely lets the film develop slowly with a deliberate pace. He infuses a great drama with some shots of majestic Wyoming, using the setting to its utmost potential. There aren’t too many twists and turns but at the end of this tragic tale of romance but Lee lets his drama develop over time, as he allows his characters to develop fully and completely.
