Review of Brokeback Mountain (2005) by Ethan P — 03 Dec 2015

After putting off seeing this movie when it first came out until it started getting Oscar hype, I am really glad I eventually got to sit down and watch this film. And I cannot count how many times I have recommended this movie to people and get the same old response.

"No way man, isn't that about the gay cowboys?" Well, yeah it is, but it is more than just about gay cowboys. I for one am not really a fan of romance films, whether they are between man and women or man and man, it is just not the genre that I find myself watching a lot.

In fact it is probably my least favorite genre of them all. I just find the romance genre boring and rather repetitive. Throw in the fact that I am a heterosexual man, who for all intended purposes is very open minded when it comes to this stuff.

But throw that all to the side for a moment and take Brokeback Mountain for what it is, a really good movie. Maybe the story is not something that you are fond of, you have to admire the acting, especially by Heath Ledger.

Ledger will always be best known for his brilliant portrayal of The Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and deservedly so, it is one of the best performances ever put on screen. But he is downright amazing in Brokeback Mountain.

Just the fact that his delivery and accent are so authentic and he is Australian is quite amazing. Ledger is phenomenal in this movie. Everyone does a great job in this movie. Ang Lee does a good job too of not making it a film about equal rights and social injustice to the gay community, but focuses on the love story that develops between the two main characters in the movie, and not only what it does to them, but how it effects the people in their lives.

I never thought that my favorite love story in cinema would be between two men, I never in a million years would have thought that to be the case, but it is. This is a really good movie. Yes, Brokeback Mountain has a slow pace to it, but I was just taken back by the sheer brilliance of Ledger in this film.

As big of a Phillip Seymour Hoffman fan as I am, who won the Oscar this year for Best Actor in Capote, I honestly thought Ledger deserved it a little bit more. He was also up against Phoenix for Walk the Line which was another great performance, but I am glad he was at least nominated, and really put him on the map as far as amazing actors is concerned.

Not for everyone but I highly recommend this movie. Get over your phobia and watch it for what it is.