brokeback mountain review

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Average Ratings

Value for Money	8/10
Reviewer Rating	7.9/10
Overall Rating	8.1/10

75% Recommended6 out of 8 Reviews

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By david michael on 27th Mar 2006

david michael's Ratings

Starring Actor/Actress	Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway
Where Did You See It?	Cinema
Value for money	10/10
Overall value	10/10
david michael's recommendation

Good Points

A story with universal qualities, regardless of demographics

Bad Points

None!

General Comments

From the moment Brokeback Mountain opens, with a mournful score conveying bits of deep sadness, a sorrowful wind blowing through shots of western scenery, you are connected and drawn into this film. It is the movie of a lifetime.

The opening scenes cut to Signal Wyoming in 1963, where two cowboy-hatted men, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, end up waiting, exchanging furtive glances outside a trailer that seems a bit like the rest of town - worn and forgotten. Not a word is exchanged between them, and the silent wait seems endless.

Later, they're hired as sheepherders, and eventually make acquaintances. During introductions, when Ennis only states "Ennis", Jack wryly responds "Your folks stop at Ennis?" Ennis simply replies "Del Mar", and your heart goes out to them both, a more open Jack, a shut off Ennis, perhaps caught up in circumstances not of their making.

The next day, they head up Brokeback Mountain, sheep in tow. Once up there, secluded in the beauty of the natural world that is the Mountain, Ennis and Jack settle down into their jobs, yet develop an easy going friendship. Separated from the world below, they are more relaxed, natural, and free of a society that we learn has been a little damaging and crippling.

Weeks into the work, on a cold, moonlit night, Ennis and Jack find themselves sharing one of their tents for extra warmth. Here, their platonic relationship erupts into a love affair. The turn catches them both by surprise, and Ennis can only acknowledge it by stating "you know I ain't queer" to which Jack responds "me neither".

The sheep-herding job eventually ends, and they have to make their way off the Mountain. Down below, back in society, they instinctively separate, and do so quickly, with Ennis more or less telling Jack "see you around." Your heart breaks, not just for their love that seems possible, but for our world that renders it impossible.

For the next four years both men lead typical, socially acceptable lives, with Ennis in Wyoming and Jack in Texas, marrying and having children. Then, in 1967, Ennis receives a postcard from Jack indicating that he will be in Wyoming, and wanting Ennis to let him know if he were still there. Ennis rushes to reply, writing "You bet".

When both men finally meet, it is obvious that the emotions first experienced up on the Mountain have not waned. After hugging closely and tightly, Ennis and Jack collide violently into each other, kissing hungrily and passionately. The fire ignited between them remains, having burned just under the surface for four long years.

The men then embark on a life-long relationship, meeting up on the Mountain for "fishing trips", yet never fishing, only keeping their love alive, out of society's reach. It is when they are together that Ennis and Jack truly experience happiness, otherwise unknown in their lives lived down below.

Yet, in 20 years, their relationship will remain only one of sorts, for it will never be allowed to mature. During a poignant moment on one fishing trip, Ennis reveals the center upon which this immaturity will revolve. He relates to Jack his childhood memory of seeing a dead man prostrate in a ditch, beaten to death because he lived with another man. Despite many of Jack's pleadings to build a "sweet life" together, somewhere, anywhere, Ennis will remain firm in his resolve with a "if you can't fix it, you got to stand it" mentality.

In addition to excellently revealing Ennis and Jack's relationship, the movie adeptly explores the impact of that relationship on their wives, Alma and Lureen respectively. Alma is irrevocably impacted by her husband's infidelity that she has seen but does not grasp, referring to Jack as "Jack Nasty." Lureen, never having witnessed the affair, is fairly cynical about her marriage, seeing her husband rush off to visit his "fishing buddy."

As with any great love story, there is the final "something" that keeps the lovers apart, the tragedy itself. Brokeback Mountain is no different in that aspect, and the tragedy is revealed sometime in the 80's toward the end of the film; and a grand tragedy it is. Your heart, breaking throughout the film, finally bursts at the finality, for the lovers and for our world that perhaps wills the tragedy, accepts it and survives on it.

As the movie ends and the credits roll, you must somehow collect the pieces of your heart, whatever is left, and will yourself to move. As you walk out of the theater and into society, seeing other movie-goers sobbing, you experience the hope that perhaps hearts and minds have been changed this day. The thought occurs to you then that love is truly universal, and the world be damned if it says otherwise. And you know for sure that you have just watched the movie of a lifetime called Brokeback Mountain.

Total Respect: -1