Brokeback Mountain (DVD, 2006, Anamorphic Widescreen)

Ennis tells Jack about something he saw as a boy. "There were two old guys shacked up together. They were the joke of the town, even though they were pretty tough old birds." One day they were found beaten to death. Ennis says: "My dad, he made sure me and my brother saw it. For all I know, he did it."

This childhood memory is always there, the ghost in the room, in Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain." When he was taught by his father to hate homosexuals, Ennis was taught to hate his own feelings. Years after he first makes love with Jack on a Wyoming mountainside, after his marriage has failed, after his world has compressed to a mobile home, the laundromat, the TV, he still feels the same pain: "Why don't you let me be? It's because of you, Jack, that I'm like this -- nothing, and nobody."

But it's not because of Jack. It's because Ennis and Jack love each other and can find no way to deal with that. "Brokeback Mountain" has been described as "a gay cowboy movie," which is a cruel simplification. It is the story of a time and place where two men are forced to deny the only great passion either one will ever feel. Their tragedy is universal. It could be about two women, or lovers from different religious or ethnic groups -- any "forbidden" love.

The movie wisely never steps back to look at the larger picture, or deliver the "message." It is specifically the story of these men, this love. It stays in closeup. That's how Jack and Ennis see it. "You know I ain't queer," Ennis tells Jack after their first night together. "Me, neither," says Jack.

Their story begins in Wyoming in 1963, when Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) are about 19 years old and get a job tending sheep on a mountainside. Ennis is a boy of so few words he can barely open his mouth to release them; he learned to be guarded and fearful long before he knew what he feared. Jack, who has done some rodeo riding, is a little more outgoing. After some days have passed on the mountain and some whiskey has been drunk, they suddenly and almost violently have sex.

"This is a one-shot thing we got going on here," Ennis says the next day. Jack agrees. But it's not. When the summer is over, they part laconically: “I guess I’ll see ya around, huh?”Their boss (Randy Quaid) tells Jack he doesn't want him back next summer: "You guys sure found a way to make the time pass up there. You weren't getting paid to let the dogs guard the sheep while you stemmed the rose."

Some years pass. Both men get married. Then Jack goes to visit Ennis in Wyoming, and the undiminished urgency of their passion stuns them. Their lives settle down into a routine, punctuated less often than Jack would like by "fishing trips." Ennis' wife, who has seen them kissing, says nothing about it for a long time. But she notices there are never any fish.

The movie is based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx. The screenplay is by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. This summer I read McMurtry's Lonesome Dove trilogy, and as I saw the movie I was reminded of Gus and Woodrow, the two cowboys who spend a lifetime together. They aren't gay; one of them is a womanizer and the other spends his whole life regretting the loss of the one woman he loved. They're straight, but just as crippled by a society that tells them how a man must behave and what he must feel.

"Brokeback Mountain" could tell its story and not necessarily be a great movie. It could be a melodrama. It could be a "gay cowboy movie."

It is unfortunate that people's innate prejudice towards homosexuality leads them to go into this movie with a closed mind. Too many of the reviewers seemed to have already made their mind up before even seeing this film. I went into this movie without expecting much either way. Needless to say, I was very impressed. The principle thing that stands out in my mind is Ang Lee's ability to convey so eloquently the conflicting love that these two men feel towards one another. Nothing ever feels forced, or in your face... more than anything you feel the resistance of the characters at every turn. This is what true love should really feel like, and it shows. Love can have no bounds, and seem impossible to restrain. This movie is a perfect example of this. I would gather that the same situation between people in a heterosexual light would gather rampant praise from all the homophobic people in this society. It is sad to say that they couldn't open their minds enough to appreciate the beauty of the film. Look, I can understand someone being put off by males kissing or what have you... but to those people I suggest maybe reading the short story that the movie was based off of first. The message is what is important, no matter how you obtain it.

Pros:
Excellent acting
Beautiful cinematography
Excellent neutrality that leaves it up to the viewer to decide (although if you aren't swayed at least a little bit, the only explanation is a complete rejection of the story on your part)
Great critique of the unnecessary sense of masculinity that affects both straight and gay males alike

Cons:
The initial sexual encounter between Jack and Ennis may be too quick for people who are not prepared

I think this is one of those movies that you really just have to see for yourself, rent it if you must. But if you really want a piece of art that will force other people in your own life to question their own stereotypes or even hatred towards other people, just buy it.

Contrary to what many people think, this is not a "gay cowboy" movie. It happens to be much more than that. It shows the trials and emotions of an impossible love situation, and the problems with having to keep it secret.

The two lead actors, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, are superb. They seem so natural and convincing in their roles, and you come away almost believing these characters are real. Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway are superbly cast as their wives.

I was a bit sceptical about watching the film in the first place, but soon put any reservations aside. It is unusual for me to get emotional when watching a film, but I was almost in tears in places. The scenery is stunning, and adds a certain amount of romance to the story. I feel the film wouldn't have worked as well if it had been set elsewhere. The climate and weather is skillfully included in the picture, and plays a vital role in the storyline.

I believe this is one of Ang Lee's finest films. He handles the subject matter with great sensitivity. Annie Proulx should be congratulated for the origonal short story, and Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana have done an amazing job in writing it into the screenplay.

Although I did infact find that the second part of the film dragged on somewhat, and some of the speech was difficult to hear, I think overall it is one the finest films to come out of America in recent times

I just watched Brokeback Mountain for the first time last night after renting it on DVD and thought it was excellent. I was surprised by some plot twists which I hadn't heard previously, such as Ennis' wife discovering her husbands feelings for Jack when they (she and Jack) first meet. I also didn't realize that Jack is murdered in the movie. Overall, the acting was superb, especially that of Heath Ledger. It's easy to see why he was the front runner for the Oscar for so long, and actually it seems to me that he created a character from nothing whereas Philip Seymor Hoffman more or less did a good impersonation of Truman Capote (and really, what actor couldn't get mileage out of an easy person to imitate like Capote?). I think the gay theme of Brokeback scared the older Academy voters, who could vote for Best Director and Screenplay, but were fearful of rewarding the movie in the acting categories (Jake Gyllenhall, Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway were exceptional) and as Best Picture. Crash was an engaging movie but far more flawed than Brokeback. The only real glitch I found in Brokeback was Ennis' sudden bravado when he first sees Jack years after their inital meeting on the mountain: Ennis is so guarded about everything he does, yet he wantonly risks being seen kissing Jack in the open at their second meeting, which of course his wife witnesses so easily from their apartment window. It would have seemed far more natural for Ennis to wait until he and Jack were alone, which they were less than an hour later. I think his lifelong fear of being discovered would have easily overrode his elation at seeing Jack again, especially when he knew they would be spending quality time alone after he introduced Jack to his wife. But overall, the movie is deeply rich in depicting the good and bad of human nature and in telling both a joyous and sad tale of two people in love who are forced to live in the shadows of society by ignorant mores of the day.

The winner of 77 awards, this 2005 film took home such biggies as Best Director (Ang Lee), Best Musical Score (Gustavo Santaolalla) and Best Writing Adapted Screenplay (Diana Ossana and James Schamus) from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It also received nominations for Best Actor (Heath Ledger), Best Supporting Actor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Best Supporting Actress (Michelle Williams). Based on a short story written by Annie Proulx, it tells the story of two cowboys in 1963 Wyoming who suddenly find themselves falling in love. They try to hide their true feelings, but the decades-long affair has devastating consequences for all.