Majestic gay epic!!

Rating: 9/10 (28 January 2017)

Part of the major appeal to this movie is the majestic setting, the rugged mountains and wilderness. This played a defining role in the first part of the movie, when the central characters established their lifelong bond. The other appeal were the two fine actors who played the gay cowboys. I was drawn most to Jake, the dark haired, blue eyed, baby faced actor. Whenever the camera lit upon his eyes and face, it was easy to fall in love. Both actors depicted masculine, young, impoverished, rural men who were trying to find ways to eek out a living. They smoked a lot, ate a lot of beans and drank moonshine in their coffee. On camera, they did everything typical cowboys might do except burp and fart incessantly. I suppose underneath it all, they were true gentlemen. The director did a good job at convincing the viewer that these men were indeed gay, but were forced to assume a straight lifestyle due to immense societal pressure. Bisexual men, for instance, in those circumstances, probably would never have kissed so tenderly or established the lifelong intense bond these characters had. If it's just about sexual release or getting off, kissing and longevity are the first to be dismissed. In any case, the ending was somewhat disappointing because Ennis never evolved. He never overcame his paralysis about being gay and in love with another man. He was going to live ashamed and concealed for the rest of his life - this, despite it being the early 1980s, when gay culture had already evolved substantially.