The cowboys who went up a mountain...

Rating: 5/10 (5 January 2006)

...and came down a hill.
I found this movie disappointing. It certainly didn't live up to the hype. I do applaud the two leads being willing to take on such controversial roles, and then playing their romance out so realistically. But aside from that, I didn't find the acting great and the writing was uninspiring. This movie's saving grace, in my opinion, was the breathtaking scenery (which I have to credit Mother Nature for, ultimately) and the musical score.
There was no emotional connection for me, with this movie. I didn't get a sense of why Ennis and Jack fell in love and stayed in love, and, as another review pointed out, Ennis is more pathetic than heroic. I get that that may have been the point, but when a movie tries to come off as a tragedy, you need to have the main character be somewhat sympathetic. As it was, I just left the theater feeling that Ennis deserved to be where he ended up in his life.
I'm torn about this, because I would like to see more movies with gay leading men and women, so I want the movie to do well in full release at the box office. This one, however, isn't really worth the ticket price. See it at a matinée, or better yet, wait for it on DVD. I was left feeling just... 'Eh.' All I can figure is that it's getting this kind of enormous critical acclaim for the sake of political correctness.
As an aside? Anne Hathaway's talent was thoroughly wasted in this movie.