Brokeback Mountain   

Ennis Del Mar: Heath Ledger

Jack Twist: Jake Gyllenhaal

Alma Del Mar: Michelle Williams

Lureen Newsome: Anne Hathaway

Joe Aguirre: Randy Quaid

Directed by Ang Lee

Screenplay by Larry McMurtry

& Diana Ossana

Based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx

The deafening praise coming from critics all over the nation regarding Brokeback Mountain has been amazing.  Is it as great as most experts seem to be saying it is?  Well, yes and no.  It’s certainly a compelling story about a forbidden and heartfelt romance, but there were too many instances where you get the feeling that things could have been presented so much better that prevents it from becoming the classic many people are ready to claim that it is.

The film begins in 1960s Wyoming where two ranch hands, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal), meet and work together herding and watching sheep on Brokeback Mountain.  Their friendship eventually blossoms into a romance.  After the summer, the two go on with their separate lives.  Ennis gets married to Alma (Michelle Williams) and they have two daughters.  Jack unsuccessfully tries to make a career as a bull rider on the rodeo circuit.  

After four years, Jack comes up for a visit and their affair is rekindled.  These visits eventually become a steady and important aspect of their lives for the next 20+ years. 

The one thing that really stands out in this film is Heath Ledger’s performance.  It’s a smoldering performance as a quiet and hardworking man who was initially unsure of the relationship with Jack.  His early conflict plays out in his marriage, which seems to get worse each day as Alma, who knows from the first day Jack visits of their affair, quietly suffers through it.  Ennis’s early experience with homosexuality defines his attitudes and he does all he can to prevent it from becoming something others know about. 

This is a key difference between the two lovers that ultimately defines their fates.  Ennis is in love with Jack because of who he is.  His sexuality never plays into it.  Ennis isn’t a trailblazer.  He just fell in love with someone and will never feel that way again about anybody.  Jack was a little more cavalier about his overarching sexuality, and it eventually got him in trouble. 

The problem with the film lies in Ang Lee’s direction.  He fails to provide some key scenes or elaborate on key moments in the film that could have made it more thought provoking than it is.  There wasn’t really anything to Ennis’s relationship with his wife other than going through the motions of a doomed marriage.  Which makes it even more surprising that there is so much praise for Michelle Williams’ performance – it was good, but certainly nothing special for her limited amount of screen time.  

Also, Lee repeatedly comes up short in crucial scenes and fails to allow the movie to present the essential points or emotions that the story would naturally bring out. 

Brokeback Mountain is a very good movie, but certainly nothing extraordinary.  Part of me worries that the reason this movie is receiving so much hype is because of the subject matter.  I would hope not, because for me this isn’t a big deal.  Certainly the way they needed to keep their relationship a secret is an important lesson about history and the way of the world at that point in time.  

But I wonder if the alleged groundbreaking nature of this movie is part of the reason for its success.  In 2006, aren’t we past that?  This is simply a story about a powerful, forbidden love – one that neither man can ever escape.  Hopefully, it isn’t important because of the fact it’s a gay romance, but rather, for the way it presents a meaningful relationship between these two people and the way it rules their lives – Jack’s longing desire to get a ranch and live together and Ennis’s inability to effectively love anyone else.  Although, I guess for some people, it might be great just because of what it is, rather than being held up to the standard of how well it presents the story.  I would hope that just portraying a homosexual relationship wouldn’t be enough.