brilliant tragedy, superb acting and directing

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2006)

This is one of the most moving experiences for me in a cinema. Ang Lee takes the lid off American life in the 60s (still relevant now) in a gutsy film all round. Despite the windswept landscapes and mountain spectacular we find two young men forced into a life of stagnant conformity breathless in their love for each other. Sacrifice after sacrifice ensues and without overstatement Mr Lee piles on the emotional clout with close-ups of the two handsome actors. Heath Ledger is nothing short of brilliant in a role that demands so much but could easily have gone into the theatrical. This is a performance that I doubt he will ever better. His performance is all extreme passion kept well under the surface. His seething once in a lifetime love for Jack is sadly intense and troubled. This indeed is a performance which deserves the best accolades in the world for an actor on the screen. The success of Mr Ledgers performance depends on the skillful way in which Jake Gylenhaal plays Jack. As a gay man it heartens me to see these two young actors take risks with their careers and this must be regarded as a watershed film in an America where homosexuality is still taboo and getting more so with the religious right stranglehold on morality. This is above all a love story. Ask Jack's mother!! Ang Lee does not drop a beat and he must surely take his place as one of the most gifted directors of human emotion in cinema today. And, rarely in an American film..no happy ending or easy answers. A tragic, beautiful, humane masterpiece.