Review of Brokeback Mountain (2005) by Panayiota K — 09 May 2014

What I would consider a modern classic, "Brokeback Mountain" is able to accomplish a few dozen things without seeming to try too hard. That it manages to give us a realistic and believable love story, simply gorgeous cinematography, well-developed characters who aren't as much defined by their actions as their intent behind them, some unforgettable moments and scenes, and a major allegory criticizing our engrained social roles, "Brokeback" is a place people need to visit multiple times. In one viewing, I left feeling slightly underwhelmed. It wasn't until later that I realized that several scenes were stuck in my memory along with a general intrigue about every single frame.

It's a mistake to call this a 'gay movie.' It's not about gay rights (although it doesn't exactly oppose them). It uses its subject matter of two men who fall passionately in love to show us the ugliness in the society in which we force people to conform. These two men were happiest together, but if anyone else found out, they would be dead. At a young age, Ennis's father took he and his brother to see a grisly sight. Two old men, both tough as nails, were murdered because everyone knew what happened behind closed doors. That one died from having his penis tied to the back of a truck and ripped off is a truly disturbing visual of what people will do to uphold these social roles that only demean them. Were these two men better off as lovers or when they married women? They weren't good husbands to their wives and were only so-good to their kids (although never intentionally harming them), so is the depression and psychological damage of forcing them into this situation better than or worse than the two men living together happily? That the story is a tragic one is no mystery. There's no other way for it to end. Still, I found myself fascinated by the cast. Ledger and Gyllenhaal, as I've said numerous times, seem to inject themselves into the roles with the dialogue bouncing off their tongues right when it needs to happen and not a moment sooner (or later). Jack's explosion at his father-in-law at Thanksgiving is a great moment while Alma's words to Ennis the same day ring with forbidden truth.

Michelle Williams gives a particularly brilliant performance as Ennis's wife and mother of his two girls, Alma. Confused and sometimes frustrated at her husband's behavior, she's something of a ticking time bomb that Ennis prefers to ignore (not because he doesn't like her but because he doesn't know how to make her happy). Anne Hathaway gives her best performance to date (although admittedly she was, in my opinion, the best part of "Les Miserables," I think this performance might match "Rachel Getting Married" if one can compare apples to oranges) and seems a perfect match to the goofy Jack Twist, if only he liked women. Ennis probably doesn't understand what the word 'gay' even means, but that's not to say that his character is thoughtless. He was brought up in society with very clear rules on what a man does and what a woman does.

The worst thing you can do is think of this as a 'gay' movie. Yes, the main character could be described as homosexual, but the movie isn't about his sexual awakening but the fears that rattle his very soul. There's a scene where Jack "tries to fix a flat tire" that always causes me to have to look away, usually tears gushing down my face. And how Lureen (Hathaway) handles one matter that should be delicate has a healthy dose of hatred and anger in it.

In the end, we have a movie that is never boring and moves along with great respect to timing and attention to detail. So far, this is one of the most convincing and beautiful romances I have seen since, I don't know, "Casablanca." You will likely feel initially like the movie was overhyped, but it's hard to not do that to a masterpiece.