I finally saw Brokeback Mountain this afternoon. I write *finally* because it feels that way – a local politician Bob Katter here in Queensland, Australia lobbied for some towns not to show the film. Katter postulated that there were no gay cowboys in Queensland and that gay cowboys were of course the only people who would want to see the film. Local cinemas disagreed and a town an hour away from me has been showing the film for the last few weeks.
I really enjoyed it, a slow, moving, tender film. It put me in a space of thinking about lovers who for whatever reason are unable to find happiness. It made me think that if you’ve ever thought of yourself as an outsider, you’ll be able to identify with the characters in this film. There’s a sense of universality to the film – it could be occurring in any small rural town on Earth.
I didn’t know that Heath Ledger was that good an actor. He completely transformed himself for the role. I liked the quiet similarities between him and Alma Jr – both quiet and seemingly emotionally reticent. She loves her father and seems happy to quietly enjoy the space between them – not needing to talk about the obvious issues in her father’s marriage. The 2nd daughter is noticeably absent in the second part of the film – it just made me wonder why she wasn’t there – there’s a gap there that’s left unexplored for the viewers.
I also enjoyed Jake Gyllenhall’s performance – his character didn’t seem as nuanced or detailed as Ennis. I think one of my favourite scenes in the movie is where Jack is having dinner with his family, and there’s this huge alpha male feud as to who controls the TV and the turkey. His father-in-law’s comments about how boys need to watch football and Jack’s justified outburst spoke volumes about the tensions between these two men – and the notion of queer identity that the film probed throughout. I mentally cheered when Jack “won that battle”. I loved Jake’s performance, but it also let me know that Jake seems to be a hilarious kind of guy, great comic timing – and I’d like to see him take on a well-written comedic role.
There’s a sense, for me that while Ennis *mostly* clings to his convictions and views about tolerance – does Jack “change” through the film? On the mountain, he says he’s “not a queer” and only seems to love Ennis. As the film moves on – he becomes involved with more men (Mexico and the talkative woman’s husband). His dream of a ranch with Ennis becomes a dream of the ranch with this other guy. I don’t know; does his love for Ennis lessen? Does he finally “quit” Ennis? Or does he just realise that unrequited love just isn’t his cup of tea?
There is change for Ennis though, in the last scenes of the movie where he talks with Alma Jr and finally agrees to attend her wedding. It is as though Ennis’s death catalyses a realisation that being emotionally reticent has not worked for him in the past – and that he needs to be more available for the people in his life he loves. I wonder about Ennis’s future… I wonder if this man will ever find happiness.
When Ennis speaks to Lureen, and we see the flashback of Jack being beaten – the thought occurred to me that perhaps Lureen (or her father) had been involved in Jack’s death after finding out about his affair with Jack’s Texan male beau. When Lureen tells the “tyre” story, there’s this sense that she’s practiced this story over and over again – too proud to speak of her gay husband.
Anyway, I really loved this movie – I loved that it was allowed the length to tell all of Proulx’s story. The one thing missing for me was at the end of the short story, Jack dreams of Ennis, and feels his presence. I would have liked to see that acknowledged in broader strokes than just the shirt and postcard. |
