Theatrical Review: Brokeback Mountain
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a complete dork. I feel no shame in saying that about one time a month or so, I look up all of my favorite movie directors and actors just to see what they have coming up. Well I've been an
Ang Lee fan for about 10 years. About 2 years ago, I noticed that he was working on a film called
Brokeback Mountain. I had never heard of it, but I noticed it was based on a book. So I ran to my local library and read the source material. I had no idea what it was about, and I honestly believe that is the best way to go into the story.
Now that the movie has been in about every news story for about the last few months, there is really no way for people to go into this film with an open mind. And in a sense that is a real shame. When I read the book, the story grabbed me before the whole "gay cowboy" plot was revealed. I went to see
Brokeback Mountain because I enjoyed the book, but primarily because I would watch anything that Ang Lee filmed.
It was really hard to go into
Brokeback Mountain with an open mind because it seems like on one side people are praising it for being brave, and on the other side people are slamming it for it's theme. However, I tried to be open-minded. I already knew the story. I just wanted to see how Ang Lee translated it to the screen.
Ang Lee is brilliant. With so many directors it seems that you can typecast them to a certain genre, but Lee has really gone out of his way to avoid being typecast. In fact, I think the only typecast you could say is that many of his films are adaptations of literary works. He has a real talent for taking stories and making them real on the screen. He captures the characters, the backgrounds, and the emotions in a manner that makes them authentic. And he always gets amazing scores for his films.
Heath Ledger is amazing as Ennis Del Mar. I find it hard to write that Heath Ledger is amazing because I've never seen him do anything memorable before this film. But he takes Ennis, and he makes him so real. You believe he
is Ennis and not Ledger. The story focuses on the character of Ennis and Ledger's acting is the primary reason why this film works so well. What I get out of this story is the downward spiral tale of a boy named Ennis from Wyoming. And it succeeds in just that.
There are intimate scenes between Ennis and Jack Twist (
Jake Gyllenhaal). These scenes are very uncomfortable to watch. I think they are supposed to be uncomfortable to watch. These two men, especially Ennis, seem so uncomfortable and their emotion translates really well on the screen.
The relationship between Ennis and his older daughter is heartwarming. I don't know that she knows about his affairs, and I don't think it matters. She looks up to her father, and she loves him even though their relationship is less than perfect. They are both quiet characters, and so much is said between them in the way they look at each other.
Overall, this is a very beautiful movie. It's a story about people and the choices they make and how these choices eventually effect their lives. Granted this film is not for everyone. As much as I enjoyed it, I don't think I'll ever want to see it again because it made me uncomfortable. But this film is worthy of nominations. Especially for Ang Lee and Heath Ledger. It's not a perfect film, but it's pretty close. If you do see it, try to not let your personal views ruin your enjoyment. But I think that is probably hard. Like I said, this story is best enjoyed when you know nothing about it.
