I've seen the powerhouse!!

Rating: 7/10 (29 January 2006)

Brokeback Mountain is shaping out to be one of the most talked, most influential, biggest film is history. It will likely be a film that everyone will remember hearing about in 10, 20, 30 years...it's everywhere and finally I have seen it and I must admit that after all the hype and constant talk, and bombardment I was a little disappointed. I was expecting to be blown away, I was expecting to slap a huge 10/10 on this and rave away but I can't do that. Don't get me wrong this film is breaking barriers for the gay rights movement, has probably changed the face of film history which is fantastic but for the purpose of entertainment which really is what film making is all about...I was a little disappointed.
It wasn't the performances by any stretch of the imagination although director Ang Lee's choices for leads and supporting cast is odd to say the least. But perhaps that's because this film is a very odd stretch for Ang Lee himself. Granted his films often deal with societies barriers on women or other repressed situations which Brokeback Mountain certainly tackles. Heath Ledger in the lead role of Ennis Del Mar performs probably his best acting performance to date (although 10 Things I Hate About You is still amazing in my opinion.) His portrayal of a gay man who finds a soul mate far away in the mountains but then must return to society to marry, have children and struggle every day with being gay in secret. His performance is emotional and moving and definitely the best in the film. Matching that powerful performance is Jake Gyllenhaal who plays Jack Twist, a man who wants nothing more than to be with Del Mar and is willing to give up everything to be with him despite Del Mar's persistence against it. The film follows both men throughout their lives and we see how they deal with being together and apart off and on, in secret for most of their lives. They deal with wives, children, family, jobs everything all with their love in mind. Both men have different ways of showing their dedicated love to each other. Anne Hathaway in a small role as Jack Twist's wife is very good. She completely shatters her Disney image (which the must less impressive Havoc tried to do.) In her very good role as the emotionally estranged wife she does a great job. Michelle Williams also impresses as Del Mar's wife and the only person to really discover her husband's sexuality. These performances are really what are getting everyone talking...that and the content and story of course. The first real mainstream romance film about two gay men. The setting is also beautiful. Mountains and nature and trees and horses, it's a beautifully shot film and kudos to Mr. Lee for that. You can practically feel the mountain air around you.
So where does the film fall short. It does drag on. Clocking in at over two hours, the story never really climaxes and it really just repeats itself over and over and over again. The two men meet, go back to their lives, meet, go back to their lives...over and over. The story could have been just as well told in an hour and a half and kept my attention better. Lee also does a great job at telling the story over the course of approximately 10-15 years and Ledger ages remarkably to a believable mid 40's by the end of the film. I admit I have never seen a movie about gay men especially portrayed in a serious way such as this but I can understand some people being taken aback by certain scenes. I think the film purposely tries to be controversial in some aspect with some rather violent love scenes between Ledger and Gyllenhaal. Also certain scenes of nudity seem to be forced and blatant for just that purpose. Other than that the film serves a purpose, has a decent story but drags far too much. Many will see it, everyone will hear about it and it probably will take home some golden statues. Overall see it because I think that it's a historical moment for film and has some great performances but it is NOT the best film of the year by any means. 7/10