Brokeback Mountain, an unofficial review
Brokeback Mountain, the movie which was based on a short story by Annie Proulx, and adapted to screen play by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry is a film that is based in the town of Signal, Wyoming in the year of 1963.
The story starts out about a pair of ranch hands, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is looking for work for the summer. They get hired by a sheep manager, Joe Aguerre (Randy Quaid) to herd sheep for him on Brokeback Mountain.
Ennis is a man of few words, while Jack is talkative and sociable. We find out that Ennis's parents were killed in a car accident when he was young, and was mostly raised by his siblings. The two grow more comfortable with each other as the summer passes.
One night, since Ennis is too drunk to ride back up to be with the sheep, he decided that he'd stay at camp, and then ride up to the mountain in the morning. The night was bitterly cold, and once the fire died down, Ennis was shivering and complaining about the cold. Jack yells for Ennis to get into the tent. This is when it happens, Jack gets Ennis to wrap his hand around Jack's and this was the spark that started it all.
The summer passes, and it is relatively evident that the two has fallen deeper in love with each other. They are forced to part ways, however, as Ennis needs to return home to marry his sweetheart - Alma, played by Michelle Williams, and Jack, hinting to Ennis that he may be back next summer, sees him off with his puppy dog look eyes.
The two men part separate ones, Ennis marrying Alma, and having two daughters, while Jack catches the eye of a rodeo queen, Lureen Newsome. These two get married and have a son.
It is after four years when Jack sends a postcard to Ennis, telling him that he'll be in town, and that they should get together. Ennis, being extremely nervous, continually downs the beers and chain smokes. Jack finally shows up, and the two, thinking they were in a position that couldn't be seen, share a passionate kiss. However, Alma sees them, and she has a look of disgust mixed with pain that never goes away for the rest of the film. Lureen, by the end of the film, has become a really bitter woman, and this is beautifully portrayed by Hathaway.
This story puts to film the hidden love story of two men who could not be with each other due to societal constraints and their own constraints. It is also a story about love and how it really can transcend boundaries.
Heath Ledger, who played Ennis Del Mar, did a wonderful job with acting out his character as a shy, not too conversational, not too sociable and "tough" ranch hand who, like everyone else, is just as brittle, and can be dented and hurt on the inside. Jake Gyllenhaal, playing Jack Twist, also did a great job with his character, who was someone who dared to take risks, who tried to get Ennis to believe in him and their love. Michelle Williams, playing Alma Del Mar, a housewife who is married to a man who doesn't love her the same way he loves Jack, and ends up divorcing him as she is unable to deal with the situation. Anne Hathaway, playing Lureen Newsome, portrays a woman who ends up being very bitter, as she is never loved fully with her husband's heart. Though all four of these performances were strong, Heath Ledger is deserving of his Golden Globe nomination, and Michelle Williams is deserving of hers.
If you like dramatic films with a good story line and fine acting, Brokeback Mountain is the film for you. The chances of you being able to identify with at least one of the main characters (Ledger, Gyllenhaal, Williams or Hathaway) will be very great. I know I really identified with Gyllenhaal myself.
Many films make me choke up and tear, but this one made me cry.