It Is What it Is....

Rating: 7/10 (8 May 2006)

Postcard perfect cinematography and impeccable direction (Ang Lee deservedly won his Academy "Reward" for this film, as it sits nicely alongside his more potent "Ice Storm" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" to put him near the top of the cream of the crop of modern directors) highlight this film about gay cowboy romance in 1960's Wyoming.
Plotting and character development are glacially paced to the point of banality in the early portion of the film as the melodrama slowly unfolds into a sappy star-crossed romance amidst gorgeous mountain scenery. The drama really heats up in the middle portions of the film as our two lovers (a very good Heath Ledger as Ennis and a slightly annoying Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack) try to hide their true feelings and lead normal lives with wives and children. It's interesting to watch how the repression manifests itself differently in the characters' lives, as Jack's pent up frustration allows him to finally stand up to an oppressive father-in-law while meeting with other men on the side keeping both his wife and Ennis completely blind, while Ennis' repression leads to a complete disintegration of his life highlighted in powerful scenes with Michelle Williams as his all too-knowing wife as she delivers a shockingly raw and emotive performance.
The film lurches on into its strained later portions as it becomes painfully clear to even the most patient viewer that this was based on a short story. The flawless direction of Lee and some delightful cameos (with Linda Cardellini very effective as Ennis' later-day waitress girlfriend and Anna Farris serving some comic relief as a loquacious ranching high society Texan) keep the film engaging. However, it eventually deteriorates into the art-house equivalent of a Nicholas Sparks' adaptation complete with dialogue more memorable for its unintended comedy than for any deeply moving undercurrent, which is why I suspect the film succeeded so well with mainstream female audiences. Unfortunately it left this movie lover wishing for something a bit more meaningful.