I think doth protesteth to much

Rating: 9/10 (2 March 2006)

Wow. What a backlash. And all this vehemence for a movie critics seem to find "boring" or "not worth anything" or "stupid" or "shallow" or did I mention "boring"? Most of the vehement writers seem to be too smart by half as they all spin circles trying to avoid the real reason they didn't like the movie. After all, how many truly boring or meaningless or empty movies evoke this degree of reactionary responses? I've seen the films twice and each time found it to be moving and encompassing. I'll admit there are some technical difficulties but those pale in comparison to the acting triumphs peppered throughout the movie's 2+ hours. Boring? Hardly. Determined is more like it.
What's really funny to read are the accusations that this is some sort of tool of the "gay agenda" whatever the heck that is. Yup, there are lots of gay people in Hollywood and in the arts; its because that was one place that gays were accepted, at least as long as they stayed hidden from the public. There's also lots of gays in Washington D.C., including on the Republican side yet no one is accusing them of having an agenda.
Those who don't like gays and don't support equal rights for all people will always be offended by changes in society. Many will realize the errors of their bigotry when their sister or father or son or daughter or cousin or best friend comes out. Yet far too many will continue to utilize the cold and consuming energy of hate to power themselves and their lives; those are the ones who cannot stand to see this movie be successful.
Oh, and by the way, I'm not gay. I just thought that Ang Lee put together a movie whose pace was on an entirely different scale than we are used to seeing in mass media. The acting was difficult for many reasons, not the least of which was the need to bridge the scales of time and space that are embodied in the cinematography and story lines. Lee used some interesting mechanisms to foreshadow and connect human behavior with nature's wrath and beauty. Too bad those excellent artistic moments seemed to have been lost on the OWGs (Obsessed with Gays).
Oh, and I thought that some of the best parts of the film where the interactions between Ennis and his two daughters. As a father of two, including a wonderful and talented daughter, I was moved by the grasp Mr. Ledger had of the buried emotions that a father would feel in such a situation. When Ennis finally recognizes that his daughter is loved by someone and he reaches for the whiskey, the film reaches a subtle and wonderful point. That was connection and self-reflection and humanity.
Too bad the movie was boring and empty and irrelevant pro-gay propaganda that will never make a dime and will be shunned by moral people world-wide. Why? Because perhaps the professional gay-bashers, and liberal-haters and those of their ilk may have gotten something out of it other than mind-numbing boredom.