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Nineteen-year old Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) meet and become friends on Wyoming's Brokeback
Mountain where they work as sheepherders. It is the summer of 1963, but on one particularly chilly night, sparks fly between them as they get physically intimate.
Soon, their employer Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid), a conventional man who condemns homosexuality, notices the link between the two men and in time refuses to extend Jack's employment. Claiming that they're "not queer", both Jack and Ennis agree that whatever has happened between them on Brokeback Mountain must remain a secret. They part ways; Ennis eventually marries Alma (Michelle Williams), while Jack takes rodeo queen Lureen (Anne Hathaway) for his wife. Four years pass; Jack and Ennis cannot forget their summer on the mountain together. Jack sends Ennis a postcard and the two reunite. Alma sees Jack and her husband kissing passionately but keeps her silence despite the "fishing trips" the two men go on for years to come.
Acting is superb in Brokeback Mountain—and not just by the leads but by the supporting actors themselves.
Director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hulk) succeeds in plumbing the depths of feeling in each actor, making them portray pain and loneliness without over-sentimentalizing their roles. In fact, this is one of the movie's strong points—its ability, with acting that proceeds from the soul, to take viewers to paths they are curious about but which they dare not take. The subplots are equally good—in fact, it's a pity they are relegated to the background. Cinematography is good, and the shots of the grazing lands with Brokeback Mountain, dark, foreboding and looming in the background heighten the feeling of loss and loneliness in the forbidden love affair.
Brokeback Mountain is not the mere "gay cowboy movie" that it might look at first glance. It is a story of inner conflict between two male lovers torn between following their passion and embracing convention. While the excellent portrayal, the rich story and the care exercised in balancing its emotional push and pull make the film a credible representation of life, it does not clearly define a justifiable foundation of the strong bond between the two supposedly straight men getting entangled in a homosexual relationship. Herding sheep and an almost inexistent verbal link do not make for deep friendships; thus it would appear that the bond is forged by proximity between two bodies thrown together in an isolated and bleak environment. Viewers would argue whether this is love or just lust, but take a look at the emotional damage it leaves in its wake and judge for yourself if it's all right to get involved in such an affair.
(Date Reviewed: 24 February 2006)
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