Two cowboys with feelings for each other.

Rating: 7/10 (22 March 2011)

Brokeback Mountain is a story about two young who during a summer job as sheep herders find themselves starting a relationship. The leading roles in the film are Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist, Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar, Ann Hathaway as Laureen Newsome, and Michelle Williams as Alma Beers.
It is a story of homosexuality and loneliness in the 60's and 70's. It takes a raw and uncut look into the lives of men in the poor western countryside.
The two main characters Jack and Ennis find that they have similar backgrounds; both are high school dropouts from poor ranch families. Jack's dad was cold, while Ennis's father and mother were gone from his life at a very young age. The story began in the summer of 1963 on Brokeback Mountain where both men worked herding the sheep. They became very close on that mountain; even though Ennis was afraid of the sexual relationship. As a boy he was witness to a brutal beating of a man who was believed to have a relationship with another man he lived with.
Both men returned to their lives after that summer. Ennis went home to his soon to be wife Alma, and two daughters. In the meantime Jack moved on to Texas to pursue his career in bull riding; which is where he found his soon to be wife, Laureen. Shortly after meeting Laureen, Jack and she had a son. Laureen's father owned a farm machinery sales company, so once in the family he no longer struggled for money or work. Ennis still struggled to find work as a cowboy. Meanwhile the two men would meet for so called "fishing trips". Alma seen the two men in a loving embrace by accident and their marriage was never the same. They soon got a divorce. They carried on their secret relationship for years until Jack died.
The film quality is rough; as to show the purity or innocence of the film. The lighting was mainly dim and dark; this showed the poorness and dessert surroundings. Even the store that Alma worked in was dark. The only bright scenes were the outdoor scenes with natural sunlight.
Camera angles in the film varied. There were wide shots to capture the beauty of the mountains and the isolation of Ennis's home. You also seen many close up's of the characters to help you understand their emotions at the time, especially while they cried. You see Jack and Ennis fight their desires for each other inside the tent on Brokeback Mountain by the look of longing in their eyes. Most of the cries were silent, but with tear-filled eyes. None of the characters seemed to be able to show great sadness. It just proves that this film is all about loneliness. You could see this in Alma when she caught them embracing, or in the end when Ennis found out about the death of Jake. None of the characters portrayed were very emotionally fulfilled with their lives. It was like they all kept it inside.
Jacks character is a free spirit willing to try a real relationship with Ennis on a ranch of their own. Ennis character is a deeper emotionally detached man, with isolation issues who believes the relationship could never work.