Don't wait to catch this one - Best of this Century

Rating: 9/10 (26 March 2006)

This is probably the best film of the 21st Century. So why did I give it a 9 instead of the full marks? It is handsomely produced, visually striking and bars no holds when it comes to splashing human emotions across the screen. It must have been particularly hard for Annie Proulx to have her story pipped at the post on Oscar night. One cannot question her razor sharp writing that cuts like diamond through glass. Unfortunately, the script left much to be desired. There were good reasons why "Brokeback Mountain" lost the Best Picture Oscar.
Because the Ennis character opens up to Jack and speak more words to him in one fireside chat than in a whole year, does not give enough motivation for the relationship that developed. Even if Jack had homosexual tendencies, to which the writer gives no hint, he would not have made the move in the tent unless Ennis had given him some specific physical indication, maybe a bit of horseplay or a significant touch.
The director showed brilliance in the intimate scenes where he caught every nuance of their feelings that made hearts bleed. The utter loneliness of the Ennis character at the end and that poignant last line to the shirt and jacket: "Jack, I swear..." was as disturbing as King Lear's entrance with his dead daughter in his arms. The impossibility of overcoming the obstacles they faced and their desperate need and longing to be together make for one of the most heartbreaking tragedies I have seen in a long time. Unfortunately, there were too many scenes where they simply rode through the lush scenery together or crossed a swollen river, when what we should have seen was the development of their relationship. Why did they love each other so much? What did they give to each other, besides sex, that made their love so magnetic? Again, there was no way anyone could remember that the shirt under the jeans jacket that Ennis finds in his lover's childhood home was the shirt he missed when they came down with the sheep from the mountain. A quick flashback to Ennis wiping his bloody nose on the shirtsleeve would have been enough.
Finally, what was most annoying was the insert at their last meeting of an earlier time with nothing to indicate this was a flashback. Suddenly, there was Jack, sans moustache, asleep on his feet by a fire. Ennis comes to embrace him from behind, then rides off on horseback with the words: "See you in the morning." Then Jack, with moustache, watches his friend drive away in his truck.
So, why as much as 9? Because the acting of the protagonists and the actors in smaller roles was of the highest calibre, though the two leads should have enunciated their words more clearly. The girls were wonderful but Randy Quaid was brilliant in his two or three scenes. There is a breath-taking honesty to this film when raw emotions are brought into play that makes the film haunt you long after you've seen it. It draws you to see the film again and again and again - I have seen it four times and I still want to experience it. The director must be a man of great understanding, with a wealth of knowledge on human psychology. He hit all the right notes.
And 'Jack F*ckin' Twist' got to me.
Well done!