Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Not Your Typical Tear Jerker

Went into this movie cautiously, eyes wide open. I have to admit, I really liked it. At first it was pretty startling. Perhaps the movie would have been easier to watch if it didn't involve cowboys. I think as Americans we have a preconceived idea of the rugged cowboy and homosexuality doesn't really play into it, so it takes a while to digest that part of the movie. However, once you get past that point and further into the movie, it really doesn't matter much about the sexual orientation; it could be anyone. It actually does become more about just two people in love and how they decide to deal with it based on the stereotypes of the period. The only thing I had a problem with in the movie was understand Heath Ledger's "western twang" as it was too heavily influenced by his native Australian accent. It was interesting to see how the women in the men's lives dealt with what their husbands sexuality entailed. That was the only part in the movie in which I felt no sadness for Ennis and Jack because of the pain they inadvertly placed upon their families. December 2, 2008

Excellent!!!

Brand new movie. Looks like from the store "new", which is good. The shipping box was small and compact, environmentally friendly, not like the other huge packets I've received before with my previous orders. Despite the size of the packet, my item was not damaged at all, so don't worry. The shipping service was fast, so really really good. November 29, 2008

Don't cheat yourself by missing this great film.

I read the short story before watching the film Both are excellent and both stand on their own as original works of art.

Everyone knows all that has been said. You either understand its message and like it, think it's okay but not outstanding, or are totally turned off. Opinion and diversity makes the world what it is and Brokeback Mountain shows us another part of the world that many people still, unfortunately, want kept in the closet.

Annie Proulx's purpose was to expose homophobia in that time and place. Heath Ledger did an excellent job of internalizing his character's homophobia. Only those who have been there can truly appreciate the depth presented here.

Homophobia destroys not only the person who is homophobic but all those around them, family, friends, and as so brilliantly and vividly portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal, their lovers too.

This movie gained wider appeal also due to its message of unrequited love. Anyone who has ever experienced lost opportunity for love can identify. An emotionally powerful film.

Highly recommended!

However, I docked 1 star due to Ang Lee's lame attempt to make this beautiful film more acceptable to a wider audience by cutting out the male nudity that made the film distracting and feel less natural than the short story.

Even after that, there was high political motivation for the film's R rating. This fine film should have been rated no higher than PG or PG-13 at most. It's R-rating is a pure political rating with absolutely no basis in fact from the CARA's own rules for ratings.

Jake Gyllenhaal did a much better job for an actor in a supporting role than did George Clooney in Syriana. Another AMPAS snuff at a politically controversial film.

Those who say that the lack of a Best Film Oscar or Best Supporting Actor Oscar were not due to Hollywood's well-known homophobia are naive or just plain stupid. Well known actors have been in the closet since the birth of Hollywood and continue to influence its peer voting to this very day.

I cannot recommend the Special Edition released on Jan 23. It appears to be a case of "double-dipping" by the production company as there is little, if anything, new on this version. However, also released is the HD version that, for die-hard Brokie fans, will be a pleasure hearing the enhanced HD sound as well as the stunning photography.

Regardless of how you feel about the topic, you should not cheat yourself from seeing one of the last great performances of Heath Ledger. November 26, 2008

digusting

This movie is not fit for family viewing or for single viewing. I was very digusted with sexual contations and burned the item. November 26, 2008

A simple, devastating love story

After viewing Brokeback Mountain, or as some like to peg it, "the gay cowboy movie", I found myself having to defend it's merits in a debate with my brother. He made two key arguments: first, that the love story involved two gay men was a mere ploy to make the movie seem more important than it really is and second, that Heath Ledger's character, Ennis, was let off the hook by the film's ending. So I'm going to begin this review by responding to each of those criticisms. There is no doubt that the fact that the two main characters in this movie are gay men is to push an agenda. But it's not a gay rights agenda. It's a human rights agenda. Yes, the movie garnered attention because of its subject matter, but that's the point. The film wants us to realize that love and desire do not discriminate. It can find anyone, be it a heterosexual, interracial or gay couple. By presenting us with two gay men as leads, the film challenges our ingrained predjudices right off the bat. Surely this will be a movie that will make even the most open minded individual a bit uncomfortable, right? Wrong. The genius is that as soon as this beautiful film starts to unspool, we forget that we are watching two gay men. Jack and Ennis could be any couple who are separated from one another by society's constraints (think interracial couples, rich kid/poor kid, etc.). They become two human beings who find love with one another but never realize it due to their own fears and the expectations of others. The movie's goal is to change hearts and minds and in order to do that, it has to prove to its viewers that we are all human and victims of our own emotions and desires, regardless of our sexual orienttion. If the movie had spent the entire time preaching about the prejudices of society and hammering us over the head with a blatant gay rights agenda, I would have agreed with my brother's first point.

His second point does have some merit. In one reagard, the ending of the film lets Ennis off the hook in the sense that he never has to step forward and make a choice; to continue living a lie or to come to terms with his true nature and make a life with Jack. In real life, most people faced with Ennis' choice would probably do nothing and simply watch as time passed them by. So I agree that Ennis did get out of having to make a choice. But here is what my brother's argument misses: although Ennis has the choice taken away from him, he does not get to escape the guilt and loss that will live with him for the rest of his days. He doesn't get to decide whether or not he is going to be haunted by his indecision and he will never get an opportunity to change what could have been. But is it possible, that by having this choice taken away from him, he will grow and learn and in the future he will act on opportunities? Sometimes the only way people learn is by their mistakes.

Oh, and as for the movie, it's skillfully directed by Ang Lee and the performances are superb. Jake Gylenhall is great as Jack, the man who is more in touch with his needs and desperrately wants a life with Ennis. But it is Ledger, as Ennis, who gives this movie its heart. In Ledger's performance Ennis is a man who doesn't understand his own emotions. He reacts with anger and violence whenever his regular life bumps up against the urges that are rumbling beneath the surface. He says more about his loneliness, yearning and anger with downward glances and barely intelligible mumbles than other actors could have with lenghty soliloquies.

In essence, Brokeback Mountain is an old-fashioned, tragic love story that never resorts to cheap sentiment and keeps its emotions largely in check....much like its wounded, lost soul, Ennis. November 22, 2008

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