The mystery of love and sex.

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 2005)

I read the short story "Brokeback Mountain" in The New Yorker when it was first published in 1997 and it made a deep impression on me. Enough for me to remember it well. So, it was of interest to see that a movie had been made based on the short story. One of the main reasons I liked the story is something that will be lost on almost everyone who sees the movie, and that is the element of surprise; by now most people will have heard that this movie is about "gay cowboys." However, in reading the story I had no idea what was coming - the story started with brief descriptions of the two guys and how they signed on for the sheep herding and so on. But then, without any previous hint, the initial sex scene occurs and you are taken in a quite unexpected direction.
In anticipation of seeing the movie I reread the story and I can say that the movie is exceedingly faithful to the story. It is surprising that a thirty page story can be turned into a full length movie. Little is left out and only a few things added, like Jack's little contretemps with his father-in-law and the bear scene. In the story Ennis actually scares the bear instead of the other way around. But this is one of those rare cases where the movie meets or exceeds the scope and quality of the source.
I ask myself why this tale is so absorbing and one reason I come up with is that it details a relationship that is unique in its realization. In many works of fiction dealing with gay themes a straight person can try to make sense out of the relationships by simply picturing one of the partners as male and the other as female, and that usually works. But this story does not allow for that - it is essential that the two protagonists be male. The story would not work any other way. I like movies that take me to new places, and this one did that.
Others have remarked on the fine performance of Heath Ledger here and I concur. I had only seen him before in "A Knight's Tale" and he seemed all right in a role that was not too demanding. I was tending to write him off as just another pretty boy, but this performance changed that idea. The jury is still out for me on Jake Gyllenhaal, perhaps he is a bit upstaged here by Ledger, but I had just a bit more difficulty believing him in his role. Due to the casting the movie did give me a different perspective on the two characters. In reading the story I pictured Ennis as being the more delicate and openly emotional, but that was not my reaction to the guys in the movie. Ennis keeps the lid on his emotions pretty tightly here.
The filming is well crafted. The story unfolds in a leisurely and straightforward manner - no fancy camera angles or clever segues. This works well in the telling of this deeply personal love story. The exquisite mountain scenery infuses the movie with a backdrop of beauty that augments the beauty of the relationship. The mountain settings lend credibility. A response to external beauty often evokes a response that, if not sexual, is certainly in that same area of the brain.
Before seeing the movie I was curious as to how the initial sex scene would be handled, and it was done in a way to convey exactly what happens in the short story. As to how believable that scene is in terms of the initiation of a homosexual relationship I have spoken to some gay friends. Some feel that it is beyond what they could imagine and they were disturbed that it caters to the stereotype of what gay men always do. But perhaps a more insightful observation was that the two guys in the movie were picturing themselves as straight and had not had any homosexual encounters and, given that background, it was they who were in thrall to the stereotype and figured that that is what a homosexual experience should be. After that initial aggressive introduction to the overtly sexual part of the relationship the movie goes on to show many more tender moments.
We come to understand that this movie is much more than being about gay cowboys, but rather it examines the power and mystery of love and sex. It also observes that being gay is still far from being easy - it takes its toll on those with that orientation as well as those who know them and love them.
Nobody I have talked with heard the last line in the movie. What was it?