The intent of man's heart is evil from childhood on...

Rating: 4/10 (5 April 2006)

Ang Lee and his Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto deserve the highest accolades for their work in this beautiful film. As do the superb cast. This movie is filled with some of the most breathtaking scenery, and believable (not to mention subtle) performances I have ever seen. However, the major flaw of this film is found in it's Academy Award Winning Screen Play. Larry Mcmurty and Diana Ossana deliver a contrived plot that can only work if you are able to buy into the overbearing agenda-based themes. Consider the scenes with the heroes sheep herding on Brokeback- beautifully filmed and serene. Even given the grueling work that goes into sheep herding, these scenes are constructed with a stress free and relaxed tone. Contrasted against the scenes where the heroes are placed with their families where we never see a glimpse of happiness or relief. To further set the audiences' sentiments towards their agenda, the screenplay never offers a male figure in the film (save the two heroes) that isn't a caricature of homophobic, masculine intolerance. This only furthers the obvious agenda set by the writers when they decided to invert and deconstruct the most recognizable icon of masculinity western culture has ever produced- The Cowboy. Great art has no use for these heavy handed tactics of making certain that the audience is swayed into agreeing with the opinions of the artist. Dead Man Walking is a great example of a film that challenges the audience to think about where they stand after delivering no sympathy whatsoever for the case of its agenda. "Brokeback Mountain" wants to paint a sympathetic picture of two people in love that are frustrated at every turn because they aren't allowed to "follow their heart". The characters here are believable, yet not in any way are they sympathetic, due to the fact that they are both so insidiously selfish. They are constantly betraying their commitments (even to one another) and destroying the lives of their families in the process- and that is considered a tragedy of romance? Can the heart be trusted in directing us in the way that we should go if it leads to hurting this many people? This was not one of the questions the screen writers were interested in forcing the audience to ask.