Brokeback Mountain

I got to see it last night.

First a word on expectations. I mentioned expectations in the post below, when talking about Wolf Creek. If you're even a slightly avid movie-goer there is a wealth of information you can access about most movies long before they even hit the theater. Trailers, TV shows, TV networks (E!), interviews, dozens of movie sites, script reviews and sites...you can find out virtually anything and everything about a film before you ever get into a theater to see it. That's the information age for you. And that's me. I like movies a lot. So I enjoy finding out things behind the scenes. I like these tidbits. However, they create expectations. You get a picture, (usually false), in your head of what you think a film's going to be.

I had just such a picture for Brokeback Mountain. And the film I saw was not what I was expecting. It definitely wasn't as depressing as I was expecting. It wasn't as poignant as I was expecting. Actually, let me rephrase that: It wasn't as immediately poignant. The trailer for this film gave me the sense of something self contained: a film about two men---Jake Gyllenhaal as jack Twist and Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar---who have a homosexual affair while working together, and how this affair goes on to affect their lives.

And in a sense that's what it was about. But not in a cinematic way. By that, I mean not in a "Here's the set-up, here's the action, here are consequences of that action and challenges to overcome, and here's a resolution...all wrapped up nicely in a two hour package."

Moreso this was a film about life. Specifically approxiamtely 20 years in the life of two men (although slightly more about Ennis). It's about how the choices you make affect your life. It's about having the chance to have what you want and not taking it. Both of these men, despite their original encounter, go on to marry and have "normal" home lives. Or are they? Ennis can't amnage to keep his relationship secret from his wife, (a spectacular, if underused, Michelle Williams), and a divorce ultimately ensues. His relationship with his two daughters is rocky. He sabotages a later relationship with another woman. Jack fares a little better, but not much. His marriage lasts until the end of the film, but as he says at one point: "We could do it over the phone". His wife's parent's don't like him. And he's the one that's instigating the encounters between himslef and Ennis throughout their relationship several times a year. And when Ennis is unavailable, he's taking his comfort elsewhere. The only time these two men seem totally comfortable and at peace is when they're together on one of their "fishing trips" to Brokeback Mountain. Jack suggests more than once that they could have this life forever---he seems to realize what Ennis does not (or will not allow himself to): that they're happier when they're together---but Ennis because of fear (of reprisals) and perhaps confliction never takes him up on it.

In what I've seen of his work, I consider Ang Lee to be a graceful director. Even in the train wreck that was The Hulk, the problems did not seem, (to me, at least) to lie within the pacing or flow of the film. However, I thought that Brokeback Mountain stumbled a bit out of the gate. The beginning of the relationship of Ennis and Jack seemed a bit unclear. They start working together, work a full summer, grow closer sure, but spend one night together in a tent to ward off the cold and BAM!...fucking? It kind of left me saying "Uhh...." But after that the film settles in and moves along a lot more smoothly.

One thing that did meet my expectations however was Heath Ledger as Ennis. I had heard he did a great job, and I agree 100%. I'm going to be pretty disappointed if he doesn't garner an Oscar nod for this performance. This is made all the more surprising as it's coming from someone I've considered to be only so-so as an actor. All of the acting, in fact, was solid, but his stood out.

To go back to my point about the immediacy of any poignancy in this film, and a bit about expectations, I was a bit disappointed when I left the theater. The film wasn't what I expected, it didn't leave me feeling like I thought it would. However, the more I thought about it on the ride home, and while I was trying to go to sleep, and this morning, while writing this review...well, the point is, this film sticks with you. It's not like searing a steak, more like slow-cooking some ribs. The taste is different, but just as good.