The hallmarks of greatness.

Rating: 10/10 (9 March 2006)

The hallmarks of greatness are scattered through Brokeback Mountain. Directed with exquisite beauty by Ang Lee, the only director out there with a soul these days, BBM is a lilting surfeit of beauty of an aching, melancholy kind. Of course, Lee could coax beauty from unexposed film stock, but fortunately, he had a bit more to work with here.
Writing credits are impeccable. Anne Proulx has proved time and again that she deserves her place among such masters of the short story as Joyce Carol Oates. When BBM first appeared in The New Yorker, the literati were quick to embrace it. Add to that the brilliant screen writing of Larry McMurtry, and you've got story pretty well nailed.
From an acting perspective, aren't we all tired of signature performances that could have been phoned in by actors who make a living playing themselves? Heath Ledger delivers a stunning performance not only in its own right, but particularly in comparison to the diversity of work he has rendered thus far. For an Austrailian actor previously known for pin-up boy roles to capture with such intensity and ferocity, not to mention accuracy, the wild and rough nature of the American cowboy defines acting.
But most defining was the fact that, had the part of Jack been a female role, Jake Gyllenhaal would have been nominated for a leading role instead of a supporting role. Even Hollywood was not prepared to deal with a gay love story of such power and import, and the concept of two male leads was too much for even the MPAA to process. That, in fact, is the very definition of art, to push boundaries and redefine concepts.
The fact that BBM became so instantly iconic, whether for better or worse, is proof positive of its historical and artistic importance. Let me put it this way. A friend once asked me why I decided to get a piercing, and I said to separate that part of my life before I had it from the part after. Hollywood will henceforth be likewise divided; that part before Brokeback Mountain, and what came after.