This year has brought us some absolutely incredible acting and "Brokeback Mountain" is no different. The performances in this film are some of the most amazing I have seen yet, and the film itself was enjoyable, compasionate and very well made.
Jack Twist, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ennis Del Mar, Heath Ledger, find themselves alone on a mountain for a summer keeping watch over sheep (I'm no shephard or cowboy, so I was a little lost as to exactly why the sheep were on the mountain to begin with.) On a cold, drunken night, the two find themselves sleeping next to each other (and shortly after, sleeping with each other.) Over the course of the summer, a playful romantic relationship begins to form between the two men. They part at the end of the summer, realizing they need to go back to the real world- Ennis has a fiancee lined up. He marries Alma, in a breathtaking performance by Michelle Williams, and they start a family. Jack meets Lureen at a rodeo, played by Disney's princess Anne Hathaway, and marries her. Their lives seem to be perfectly fine apart, until a postcard from Jack brings all those feelings flooding back. Now, both men deal with the pure happiness of their forbidden love affair versus their disintegrating real lives.
In one of his 3 headlining performances this year, ("Proof" and "Jarhead," plus narration in one animated short,) Gyllenhaal is looking good as far as Oscar nominations are concerned. His performance as the more accepting Twist is great, and is only deterred by the makeup. As odd as that sounds, they had to make the 24 year old progress to almost twice his age. The makeup, not only for him but for Hathaway as well, was dissapointing. It wasn't horrible, but especially with those two actors it was inconsistent. In one scene, Hathaway looked as if she had aged 15 years, where Gyllenhaal looked the same. Still, that was the only thing that really detracted from Gyllenhaal's believability. Hathaway gave a shocking performance- at least from what we are used to seeing her in- it was a very commendable step forward in her career, but her character was very flat and lacking. Another surprising performance was that of Williams. Although brought to fame by her obnoxiously dramatic "Dawson's Creek" character, she is obviously destined for bigger and better things. Her incredible performance in "Brokeback" as the unappreciated wife and working mother was a strong point in the film. (I'm predicting at least a nomination from it) Another incredible performance was that of Ledger. Ennis was the focal point of the film, as it mostly followed his life, and Ledger was impecable at it. The character was very introverted, and he really played his intentions very well- you could almost see what was going on inside his head.
The roles of the two men fit perfectly together. Jack wanted to start a life together and live in happiness, but Ennis knew that it would be too dangerous to be open about this in their society. Although this movie is obviously about a gay relationship, director Ang Lee hardly presents it as a gay rights film or a "typical gay movie." These were just two characters in love. They don't even reference homosexuality (accept after they have sex for the first time, and Ennis proclaims, "I'm not a queer.") I really appreciated the way it was dealt with in the film. You just see the two men miserable in their regular lives, and happy only for the moments when they are together on Brokeback Mountain.
One of the films downfalls, which was one of the things I was anxious to see, was how the relationship started. Their friendship budded, and they got drunk one night, and although Jack was obviously the more open one and made the first move, Ennis was the, let's say, giver. I felt like they wanted to jump into the relationship too quickly, unless that was something cowboys did when they were in the middle of the woods for prolonged periods of time. Afterwards, the progression of their relationship was wonderful. But it was a little sudden how it got started. Another down point is that some parts seemed to drag a little. Don't drink your soda too quickly while watching it, or you may start to notice that more than the film. The biggest downfall of the movie, which I mentioned before, was the aging process, but also I wish we saw more of Jack's life. The movie really focused on Ennis, and it left me wanting to see more of Jack and Lureen and their little boy.
This is a great film- it deals well with the subject of a homosexual relationship by making it more about a love story, with a love that can never be fulfilled. You may not want to take your Southern Catholic Grandmother to see it, but I think that even some people who are not accepting of homosexuality can enjoy this movie, and even sympathize with the characters. I'm not sure if it will have a wide release, but if it is playing near you, definately go see it, especially if you like love stories (but don't expect a happy ending.) Overall Grade: A-
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