Brokeback Mountain

So in all the tumult about this film, the eruption of its subject into wide attention and the consequent revelations about cowboys' lives in the past, let us--without forgetting the American sources of the screenplay--acknowledge the anomaly that the director is Chinese.

It's a heart-wrenching portrayal of unfulfilled Wyoming love, but this time, we don't mean Alan Ladd and Jean Arthur in "Shane."

Lee and company handle the particulars of the tale with the requisite meticulousness and exquisite taste that marks all the director's films.

Brokeback Mountain is at once the gayest and the least gay Hollywood film I've seen, which is another way of saying that Lee has a knack for culling universality from the most specific identities.

While Gyllenhaal is a competent actor, Ledger - surprisingly enough - is becoming a great one, and the levels of intensity they bring to their roles render this romantically star-crossed relationship emotionally lopsided.

This is the kind of tasteful tearjerker that's often overrated and smothered with prizes because it flatters our tolerance and sensitivity.

This much-ballyhooed gay cowboy melodrama is an inert disappointment.

"Brokeback Mountain" is still lyrical poetic melodrama that takes a modern-age Western that turns into a quietly revolutionary love story. Ang Lee's visual eye for forbidden love stories with Diana Ossana along with Larry McMurtry exquisite understanding of the traits of characters in the American west comes together creates something that is mysterious ambiguous but intensifying and extremely powerful. James Schamus who is the defining revolutionary pioneer of independent film created Focus Features in 2002 to take on risky projects that pushed the boundaries of cinema after serving as a professor of film history at Columbia University for years while championing auteur directors getting their films off the ground like Claire Denis, Todd Haynes, Nicole Holofcener, Tamara Jenkins. He knew when he optioned the rights in 2001 it was his most risky challenging project to date. Diana Ossana had read the short story from Annie Proux when it came out. Pedro Almodóvar was initially offered the opportunity to direct, but turned it down, citing concerns about artistic freedom. At Ossana's request, Schamus showed the story and screenplay to his close friend Ang Lee after he co-wrote his films "The Wedding Banquet," "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman," "The Ice Storm," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hulk." Lee decided to make Hulk first, his experience of Hulk, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon from two years prior left him exhausted but Schamus said to Lee "please read it you won't regret it," he did and was left in tears after reading the script. He was particularly drawn to the authentic rural American life and repression depicted in the story. As the film opens we see a young rancher Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) by himself casually waiting outside the ranch office for the other shepherd he has herd the sheep through the summer on grazing pastures on the infamous Brokeback Mountain. We see another rancher arrive and introduces himself as Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) they don't know what to make of each other, all they know is need a job to get paid as Ennis has a fiancée he has to support and is reluctant to tie the knot yet he doesn't know why while Jack is just getting by looking to pursue career in the rodeo. Orphaned at a young age after his parents died, Ennis was raised by his older brother and sister, growing up in a challenging environment of poverty and hardship. He becomes a stoic, quiet, introverted and pragmatic individual, shaped by his difficult upbringing and the limited opportunities available to him. Jack however grew up in Lightning Flat, Wyoming, around the time of World War II. He's disowned by his parents after he drops out of high school to work, much like Ennis had to. They could not be more different and yet have similar qualities to relate to. After a night of heavy drinking, Jack makes a pass at Ennis. While initially reluctant, Ennis becomes receptive, and he and Jack have sex in their tent. Despite Ennis telling Jack that it was a one-time incident, they develop a sexual and emotional relationship. We don't know what draws them two one another but their quiet realism makes us believe every second of it. Near the end of their work contract, Ennis and Jack have a fight that leaves both of them bloodied. Before parting ways, Ennis offhandedly laments that he left one of his shirts on the mountain. Years after they move on and Ennis marries his longtime sweetheart and fiancée Alma Beers (Michelle Williams) who you can tell instantly is smitten with Heath in every frame which only makes her performance so much more heartbreaking as she conveys the emotion of what it's like to loose him to someone else. As Jack moves to Texas, he meets rodeo rider Lureen Newsome (Anne Hathaway), a free spirited independent woman and the daughter of a wealthy agricultural machinery manufacturer; they marry and have a son. When they meet again after four years apart it's almost hard to know whether they've thought about each other but they just know they have someone to open up to about their troubles and the love is there even though they can't express it. At a motel room, Jack wants them to create a life together, but Ennis refuses to abandon his family and is haunted by a childhood memory of his father showing him the body of a man who was tortured and killed for suspected homosexuality. Without this groundbreaking story we wouldn't get powerful stories of LGBT characters like "Milk," "Carol," or "Call Me by Your Name" but none of those films have captured something as naturally honest or powerful as this. If anyone deserves an Irving G. Thalberg Award, it's James Schamus for getting this timeless masterpiece made. Two men have found something that many people, of whatever emotional persuasion, never find true love. And they can't do anything about it. They are forced to deny the only great passion either one will ever feel, their story is different from others but their tragedy is relatable and universal.

Brokeback Mountain is slow and methodic, yet incessantly beautiful all the same. With some gorgeous shots of Wyoming in its back pocket, Ang Lee's romantic western is a moving portrayal of gay love in a time when it was unacceptable to the majority of society. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal have undeniable chemistry and their love is believable. However, I have many problems with their romance, which prevents me from loving the film. Firstly, Lee decides to show them eating beans and then bang, all of a sudden, they are lovers. Though there is sexual tension between them beforehand, it seems odd that in a time when being gay is so taboo, two men would quickly rush into sex. Secondly, the film skims through years and opts to ignore the negative side of this romance. Yes, these two love each other. However, what about their wives (Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway)? What about their children? Not only are they both adulterers, but they ignore their spouses and children repeatedly in the film. I get that they are repressed homosexuals, which is obviously terrible, but it makes it hard for me to feel sympathy for two men who are so morally repugnant. The only mistake these women made was marrying a man who is gay, which apparently makes them deserving of being cheated on. There is no sympathy for the struggles of our gay lovers due to their lack of respect for the women in their lives and, heck, even their own kids. Ennis (Ledger) very clearly never sees his daughters. By the end, he only has a relationship with one (Kate Mara). How is this okay? Lee makes some effort to condemn the deception to Ennis' wife, but quickly reverts to trying to make us feel sympathy for him once more. That said, their relationship is undeniably electric. Though I have problems with the rushing of it all, Lee does expertly counter this by showing Gyllenhaal's initial hesitation to rush things with Hathaway. Through this, we are able to see his true colors and sexual desires. It is also showcased in his interactions with Hathaway and Ledger. While with his wife, he clearly lacks passion and is on edge. With Ledger, he is loose, free, and head over heels. Lee develops this angle brilliantly. Additionally, the ending sequence made me into a believer. The clothing, the photo, and the trauma Ennis faces at the end, really hit home. In order for non-gay viewers to truly overcome any prejudices, this scene is almost a much, because it shows how real their love is for them. They did not choose this life. Instead, it was who they are. This is ever present in this scene and is truly the dramatic and romantic triumph of this film. While the development of the romance felt off for me, the ending was easily the best part of this film. Brokeback Mountain is beloved by many. For me, it is a good western and good romance, but simply never commits to actually developing the romance, instead opting to fast forward to the "good bits" with no build-up. Even worse, it never fully condemns the more reprehensible actions of Ennis and Jack. That said, the emotional power and force of this film is impossible to deny.

Ang Lee is a good director and "Brokeback Mountain" is a good film too. Heath Ledger has a difficult role and he plays very well. Jake Gyllenhaal is good too but Ledger is better. Good film.

A ridiculous movie of which the critics feel compelled to like. I read reviews of this movie from them before the thing was even available for their viewing. It is a chick-flick meant to show that even gay men can be sensitive, and caring. I would be willing to bet there isn't a straight man in America that went to see this piece of psuedo-gay porn voluntarily. They went only because their wives and girlfriends wanted them to. If this were about two women it maybe, MAYBE would have made it onto the Lifetime channel.

Incredibly dull movie about gay cowboys, that probably wouldn't get any popularity, if it wasn't about homosexuals. I'm not any sort of homophobe, but giving a boring movie, without any plot twists, deeper meaning or action high grade, just because it tells a story about gays is plain riddiculous. Avoid it like plague, unless you are deeply involved in some sort of LGBT movement or you can't sleep at night and need something to help you achive that state.