Movie of a lifetime

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2005)

I had high expectations of this film, especially with some of the superlative reviews that appeared in The New Yorker and Rolling Stone. Everyone's superlatives don't do it justice. I have waited my life for a movie like this. Everything about it is right. One of the things I really liked is that it so clearly shows the brutal impact of homophobic culture, that it was homophobia that ruins the lives of these characters. It also captures the breathtaking beauty of the Rockies and what makes the West a place that has its own rewards for living in (I'm originally from Wyoming and many of the details were perfect, such as the sound of wind that is a ubiquitous presence in Wyoming). Jake Gylenhaal was wonderful (and beautiful) and Heath Ledger gave a performance of a lifetime. In the end it's the humanity that shines. See it and weep (seriously - you need a handkerchief with this one, regardless of your orientation). Brokeback Mountain will surely be remembered as not just the best film of 2005, but one of the great works in cinematic history.