Beautiful In So Many Ways

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2005)

I had heard a lot about this movie, so my expectations were high. What a pleasure it was to have these expectations surpassed. This is Ang Lee's best film to date. In spite of what the headlines and the talk show hosts' lame jokes say, Brokeback Mountain is not a movie about gay cowboys. This is a movie about lost opportunity. It is about love, about family, about the choices we make in life. It is about the choices each of us makes, and the way we must live with them. It is a universal story. Its universality may the be very thing that undermines its potential to be a 'commercial' success, because it may frighten people who can' see beyond the gay love story. The acting is superb. After seeing CAPOTE, I thought Phillip Seymour Hoffman would have no competition for any of the Best Actor awards. Now I'm not sure. Both Heath Leger and Jake Gyllenhall deliver performances that deserve to be honoured (and not just because they are two straight men who are willing to play gay). The actress who plays Alma is extraordinary. What a delight to see Roberta Maxwell (one of Canada's best actresses) in the role of Jack's mother.
I was riveted to the screen during the entire running time of this intelligent, insightful, beautiful, beautiful film.