Fresh entry in the canon of American tragic love stories; Ledger's acting turn is stupendous

Rating: 9/10 (25 December 2005)

Heath Ledger offers one of the finest performances in memory by an actor in an American film as Ennis Del Mar, one of the two star-crossed lovers in this tragic tale of homosexual longing and desire set in the wilds of the Wyoming high country grasslands. Ennis is paired up with Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal), a third rate rodeo cowboy, when the two sign on as sheepherders in the summer of 1963.
Their erotic hunger for one another emerges almost immediately after they settle into their routine with the herd in the high country. From their bear cub-like foreplay scuffles, to tender scenes of their kisses and embraces, to the serious throes of their intercourse, the mutual attraction and consummation of lovemaking of this couple are believable to the core.
After this summer of love, the men go their separate ways. They each eventually marry, have children, settle down. Ennis stays in a tiny mountain town in Wyoming, barely scraping by as a ranch hand and cattle drive herder. Jack drifts to Texas, rodeoing, where he pairs up with the daughter of a prosperous small town farm machinery dealer, who grudgingly takes Jack in as the lead salesman. Jack and Ennis meet once a year for a tryst, when Jack drives north and the two go off together on "fishing trips" to the high country where they first had met and discovered their love for one another.
What makes Ledger's role so memorable (I kept thinking of his Ennis and visualizing him for days afterward) is not so much his lovemaking, good as it is, but rather the immense complexity of the character he plays. Gruff, rough, moody, surly. A simple but passionate man. At some moments, explosive as a powderkeg. Nearly mute at other times in his inability to express the power of his feelings. Visibly trapped - cornered even - in his poverty. Tender and caring as a father and, to the extent he can muster, as a dutiful husband. Ennis's excitement, his joy of anticipation, is palpable when the moment of Jack's annual visit nears.
Gyllenhaal's role is less complex though acted well enough. His Jack is a more garrulous, forthcoming fellow, who wears his needs and his feelings on his sleeve. Unlike Ennis, whose forbearance is huge, Jack does not easily suppress his impulse for homoerotic contacts. He visits male prostitutes in a Mexican border town and begins to strike up what hints to become a relationship with another married man in his Texas hometown. Jack's inability to stifle his impulses proves in the long run to be his undoing.
The screenplay by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana was adapted from a short story by E. Annie Proulx. Canada stands in for Wyoming for the location shots. The photography, by Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto ("Fibra óptica," "Amores perros," "Frida," "8 Mile," "21 Grams"), is sometimes stunning, in particular the sheep herding scenes early on. Director Ang Lee masters yet another film genre here (Westerns) and evokes fine performances not only from his lead actors but several excellent supporting performers, including Randy Quaid, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Willliams, Kate Mara, Roberta Maxwell and Peter McRobbie.
This film deserves a proper place among tragic American love classics such as "Bonnie and Clyde," "Casablanca," "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," "A Place in the Sun," "West Side Story" and "Wild at Heart." My rating: 8.5/10 (A-). (Seen on 12/19/05). If you'd like to read more of my reviews, send me a message for directions to my websites.