Emotional, powerhouse film

Rating: 10/10 (10 January 2006)

Brokeback Mountain is a story about love. Familiar love. Unexpressed love. Physical love. Ang Lee's sweeping drama raises startling questions about love's power over two people and what they are willing to do to preserve that love when it is at odds with their environment and their subculture.
As others have said, this movie mostly takes place in the harsh but beautiful Wyoming frontier. Drifters Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) are hired to herd a massive flock of sheep in the summer of 1963. The two spend their days on horseback transporting the sheep down Brokeback, and their nights discussing their lives over a campfire and whiskey. Their relationship crosses over to the physical when they share a tent one cold night and Jack initiates intimacy (By the way, the sex scene is NOT intended to be erotic; it is very violent, much like what you would expect two testosterone-fueled cowboys to have).
When the summer ends, Ennis gets married to Alma (Michelle Williams), and Jack moves to Texas and becomes a rodeo champion before marrying Lureen (Anne Hathaway). But the two can never forget the summer where they shared love, and soon begin meeting together several times a year for recapture the ecstasy of that summer. As the years progress, Jack becomes more and more desirous to start a life with Ennis. However, Ennis, marred by a disturbing childhood experience and an inability to express himself emotionally, finds it difficult to give himself to Jack.
Stellar performances abound in this movie. Gyllenhaal captures the vulnerable and expressive Jack flawlessly (and, in my opinion, redeems himself for The Day After Tomorrow). His earnest, gentle Jack is the emotional center of the film. Williams gives poignancy to her role as Ennis' long-suffering wife. And Hathaway, in a stunning departure from her Princess Diaries role, plays Lureen with an acute stoicism.
However, Ledger's character of Ennis is the scene-stealer here. He faces the challenge in the movie; he must come to terms with his troubled past and learn to express himself emotionally to Jack, or risk losing him. Ledger gives Ennis facial expressions that communicate more than his limited dialogue.
This is NOT a gay western. It's a drama set in the west where two men share different kinds of lovephysical, family and fraternal. The direction, writing and the performances make this a powerhouse film. Brokeback Mountain will stay with me for a long, long, time.