A heartbreaker of a movie. I thought Heath Ledger was phenomenal, (although there were a couple of scenes in which he looked so much like George Bush–to me, anyway–that I couldn’t keep my mind on the story).
People I spoke with who were uncomfortable with this movie told me the sex scenes were too graphic and “didn’t leave anything out,” so I was expecting something approaching an X rating. What I saw instead was not graphic in the least. The focus was on character, not sex. One of my favorite books on writing is THE JOY OF WRITING SEX by Elizabeth Benedict. Benedict stresses that sexual behavior has to be an extension of the character. What does intimacy mean to these two people? In BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, the implication of the love between Ennis and Jack is paramount. Ennis can’t embrace it, and his pain, at first hidden, finally overwhelms him. The scene with Jack’s parents was touching.
Jack and Alma, Ennis’s wife, had my deepest sympathy. Both of them were hurt by Ennis’s inability to be honest with his feelings, even to himself. And Ennis, though I frequently wanted to drop-kick him into the next state, was the product of his sad upbringing and the times.
My only complaints were a pace that was a tad too slow and the sudden, inexplicable focus on Ennis’s one daughter. What happened to the other daughter? I felt as though I missed something. Oh, and one more thing. What was with Ann Hathaway’s hairstyles? Yuch.