MOVIES: Brokeback Mountain

Brokeback Mountain - "that gay cowboy movie"

by Sherri Caldwell

I decided to see the infamous "gay cowboy movie" on my own, since it was not at all likely that my hubby would want to see it, in the theatre or elsewhere. He is not homophobic or anything, he just doesn't have any interest in seeing it all up on the big screen, and that's okay. I don't think he would have liked BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. I'm not all that sure I liked it, but I do like knowing what the buzz is all about.

From the sounds of it, this movie could be an Academy Award winner this year, which I think says a lot about Hollywood and society. I know our society is becoming more permissive, in some ways, more open and accepting, which is good. I had no idea we could be THIS accepting, in the current Republican/conservative/fundamentalist political climate, but perhaps the success of this movie is a liberal reaction to that -- and that's very good.

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is a straightforward (so to speak), unapologetic gay love story about two cowboys in Wyoming who get stuck for a season tending sheep at the top of Brokeback Mountain, and pass the time...well, falling in love. It begins in 1963 and plays out over twenty years, a time when homosexuality was NOT OKAY in Wyoming and Texas. The two cowboys spend the rest of their lives attempting to reconcile their forbidden love, friendship and continuing relationship into a "same time, next year" kind of affair, secret from their wives, their families, and the rest of the world.

At times, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is awkward and uncomfortable -- truthfully, it just doesn't seem right to have two young Hollywood hotties, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, rolling around up there, kissing and stuff. I did not not see sexual chemistry -- kind of like Diane Lane and John Cusack in MUST LOVE DOGS -- just wasn't there, between these two actors. Certainly the scenery was beautiful: Heath and Jake, and the Wyoming landscape.

The overall message is universal and compelling: the tragedy of life wasted, denying true love. In this case, it was an impossible situation, dangerous, given the prevalent attitude and violence against gays at that time and place.

I have come to understand, or at least believe my gay friends, that it is not a choice or a decision, to be homosexual. I respect that, even if I can't truly understand. For my gay friends, I am happy that they can be more out of the closet in their love and life choices, that our society is more permissive. However--

The most disturbing element of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is the question of being gay or not -- Heath Ledger's cowboy, Ennis, did not go up Brokeback Mountain gay. He was engaged to be married, to a woman. Jake Gyllenhaal's cowboy, Jack, more clearly was homosexual. The initial gay encounter, then, doesn't come across as "natural" or undeniable love or lust -- it is uncomfortable and disappointing when it basically comes down to participatory rape. The morning after:

Ennis Del Mar: I figure we got a one-shot deal going on here.
Jack Twist: It's nobody's business but ours.
Ennis Del Mar: You know I ain't queer.
Jack Twist: Neither am I.

Jack may have been in denial of the clearly obvious, but not so with Ennis. Ennis clearly struggles with it for the rest of his life, even though he marries his girl and fathers two children (eventually divorces). Jack Twist also marries and fathers a child, although it is more clearly portrayed as a cover and longstanding deception of his true sexual preference. Ennis suffers in his own confusion and unhappiness, unable to give Jack up, but unable to give in and run away with Jack, for good reason. In a graphic scene, Ennis recalls a childhood memory of two old cowboys who had shacked up together, and ended up brutally murdered.

The acting performances are stunning, with Heath Ledger standing out as he ages through two decades, a grunting, monosyllabic Forrest Gump/Billy Bob Thornton-in-SLINGBLADE type character. Jake Gyllenhaal is adorable. Michelle Williams, who plays Ennis's wife, and learns of the secret relationship early on, is amazing. Anne Hathaway (PRINCESS DIARIES), who plays Jack's business-oriented, seemingly-preoccupied wife, is good, but her aging, through the 70's Farrah Fawcett flip hairstyle and blue eyeshadow is great for a giggle.

My favorite one-liner from Brokeback Mountain:
Jack Twist: This is a bitch of an unsatisfactory situation.

Go in with an open mind, and you might enjoy BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN -- it is certainly NOT your run-of-the-mill love story or cowboy western!