Making mountains out of ‘Mountain’
- Brokeback Mountain
- It's difficult to find any flaws in this epic film about two men who share a forbidden love... unless you're homophobic.
I don’t think there was ever a great time to see “Brokeback Mountain,” but not for the reason you might suspect (the whole gay cowboy thing). Even before it was released in New York City, it had that “Oscar buzz.”
I hate Oscar buzz because it makes it seem like the only reason intelligent movies are made and the only reason we end up seeing them is to decide if they are indeed contenders for the Oscars. As a result, the whole artistic process gets skewed and the movie-going experience gets tainted. The discussion becomes “Will this movie win Best Picture?” instead of “Was this a great movie?”
So I didn’t rush out to see “Brokeback Mountain” even though I wanted to see it. Even before I had thought about planning a trip to the theater, the Ang Lee-directed flick had already received critics awards, four stars, five stars, two thumbs up, the top spot on Top 10 lists, etc. The reason why this sucks is ultimately I’d be forced to go into this movie with huge expectations, even if I willfully tried to temper them a bit. And I hate going into movies like that. I also end up being overly critical, as if to out-pretentious all those movie reviewers claiming this is one fantastic masterpiece.
I remember seeing “The Matrix” with my boys Wooster and Eli up at Syracuse in 1999 and being totally blown away. Why? Because I had no expectations for it. It was a sci-fi flick starring Keanu Reeves, and I’ve never really been a fan of either. Such moments at the theater are so rare now though. Everything gets the hype treatment, whether it’s a blockbuster or an indie pic.
So there I was, seeing “Brokeback Mountain” weeks after it had been released in NYC. My strategy of waiting until some of the hysteria died down had worked a bit. I found myself able to just sit back and relax and prepare for some gay sex scenes.
And you know what? It lived up to the expectations. Well, it came pretty damn close to living up to the expectations.
If you’ve followed the life of this movie, the one thing that you’ve probably heard over and over is that it doesn’t matter that the two people in love are men, it’s just a great, epic love story in the vein of “Casablanca,” “The English Patient” and “Doctor Zhivago.” Two main characters fall in love yet can never quite seem to fully consummate their desire to end up together. Five years ago, gay theme or not, I wouldn’t have given this movie a chance. I wasn’t exactly a romantic.
I’m not sure if this film, which is based on a story by E. Annie Proulx, was put into production in a reaction to the anti-gay sentiment in America that seems to have been brought to the surface by the last presidential campaign. Politics and social issues influenced a lot of movies in 2005, moreso than an average year I’d say, so it’s not far-fetched to assume it was. But its timeless quality allows it to transcend something that was spawned from a red state vs. blue state issue.
The two people in love in this movie are Ennis Del Mar, played astonishingly by Heath Ledger, and Jack Twist, played respectably by Jake Gyllenhaal. The two cowboys come in contact with each other, so to speak, one summer while herding sheep on Brokeback Mountain in Wyoming. It is in these early scenes that I find the biggest flaw in the movie: I just don’t see where the passion for each other comes from. Sure, they’re two guys who spend a lot of time together alone on a mountain, and spend a lot of time exchanging thoughts and emotions. But love? I’m not sure. The first love scene is actually hard to see coming, which shouldn’t happen in such an epic.
But once it comes, it smacks you on the mouth with the weight of their relationship and their love is believable for the rest of the film.
Ennis and Jack’s summer of love comes to an end and soon they feel obligated to lead “normal” lives in order to fit into society. Ennis stays in Wyoming, while Jack ventures down to Texas to try his hand at the rodeo circuit. Both eventually marry women, have children and land mundane jobs to support their families. Their love isn’t rekindled again until four years later when Jack makes a visit back up to Wyoming and meets up with Ennis, who’s absolutely estatic to see Jack, as if he’s there to rescue him from his loveless marriage to Alma (Michelle Williams).
Christ is Ledger good as Ennis. It’s the little things he does that give Ennis such depth and complexity. From the macho mumble Ennis uses to hide his insecurities, to the way he desperately tries to avoid speaking and making eye contact, to his furrowed brow in later years. He also ages a lot better than Gyllenhaal, who basically just relies on a mustache and a bit of a gut. And this was another case where I was sick of hearing the Oscar buzz. But I’m sorry I doubted the guy from “10 Things I Hate About You.”
Ennis and Jack start taking “fishing trips” together in order to get away from their drab lives and recapture the magic from the summer at Brokeback. Even as they drift further and further away from their fraudulent lives with each trip, they keep their love a secret for fear of how they’ll be treated by society. However, Jack keeps alive his dream of running away to their own ranch, despite Ennis’ refusal. Such tugging forces from various directions only make all aspects of their lives more complicated and miserable.
You really don’t have to be homosexual to appreciate the themes tackled in “Brokeback.” Nearly everyone has felt alienated at one point or another in their life. Nearly everyone has suffered through pain for love. A lot of people have felt trapped in the life they have constructed. That’s why it succeeds.
Even with the great performances and universal themes, this movie probably would have fallen apart if it wasn’t directed by Ang Lee, as it consists of a lot simple folk dealing with a lot of raw emotion, which means basic dialogue and a lot of blank stares. Lee manages to keep the film going at an entertaining pace without glossing over important developments in the plot and the characters.
Lee’s versatility has always amazed me. He’s able to work on a complicated and involved picture like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” then move on to something that requires subtlety and restraint like “Brokeback.” He doesn’t hit his audience over the head with gimmicks or signatures; he just does a flawless job at framing shots, especially those scenes that take place in the awe-inspiring Wyoming landscape early in “Brokeback.” He’ll have the action taking place in a corner of the screen while capturing mountain tops or a flowing herd of sheep in the background.
So don’t think of “Brokeback Mountain” as the gay cowboy movie or the leading contender for the Best Picture Oscar. Just think of it as the best piece of art rolled out in the past couple years by an industry that had been suffering through an incredible dry spell.
January 3rd, 2006 at 5:21 pm
Did you bring along a bottle of Black Label to get thru that flick?
January 3rd, 2006 at 11:11 pm
i presume by black label you meant whiskey… but as a frequent whiskey drinker, i find it hard to tell simply by the words what brand you meant, perhaps a bottle of jack? or jim black?
maybe i know not nearly enough about alcohol, but be more specific, GOSH…
note: any whiskey, preferably bourbon and more specifically jim beam, is a sufficient gift if you pick my name in the annual crap filter secret santa/yankee swap
January 3rd, 2006 at 11:20 pm
post thought: i now think you were referring to johnny. any way you slice it, jim, jack, and johnny make one hell of a crowd.
on the actual subject: nice review chris, i wanna see this one soon.
January 4th, 2006 at 7:38 am
Don’t thank me, thank Mark.
January 4th, 2006 at 7:43 am
oh, haha, i thought you wrote it… nice job MARK.
January 4th, 2006 at 10:51 am
Any (cheap) rum drinkers here?
January 4th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
I believe someone forgot to mention the glory that is ‘The Hulk’ in recounting Lee’s astonishing cinematic career.