Beautiful melancholy

Rating: 10/10 (28 May 2009)

I am one of those film lovers who never goes to first runs in the theater or pays all that much attention to critics' reviews, industry hype and, more often than not, the opinions of people I know. I wait until all the hubbub dies down and after time if the film is still being discussed and seems to have a real lasting effect in peoples' minds then I rent it (sometimes I buy it if my instincts tell me to).
Just this week I found a copy of 'Brokeback Mountain' in my late mothers' DVD drawer. Was I surprised!? Yes. This movie was on my short list of 'must sees' sooner rather than later. So I watched it and have to agree completely with all the raves of the past 4 years since its initial release.
Heath Ledger is great in this film. His mumbling, shy yet tough Ennis is a multi-faceted, subtle and deeply moving performance. Jake Gyllenhaal's Jack is less faceted but then his character knows what he wants, at least more than Ennis does, at first. There is less room in the role for Gyllenhaal to grow as a character which is mostly set from the start.
Even more impressive than the leading men are the leading women. Michelle Williams gives a very nuanced and lived-in performance of Ennis's wife, Alma. And Anne Hathaway's Lureen Newsome is also superb as the more controlled and worldly Mrs Jack Twist.
The actress playing the 19 year-old Alma jnr, whose name I can't remember at the moment, stands out as well in a very strong cast.
Music, cinematography, editing... everything, about this film qualifies it as one of the icons of great film-making in the United States. I'm glad I waited to see it without all the pop hype rolling around in my head.