A hauntingly beautiful love story that will stay with you!

Rating: 9/10 (14 March 2006)

I entered the screening of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN with the most open of minds and left emotionally drained. When a movie can do that to you, then you know you have been deeply entertained. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN has been constantly referred to as a 'gay cowboy' film, but that unfortunate label doesn't even begin to describe the film.
In their star-making & Oscar-nominated performances, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal portray Ennis & Jack, two sheepherders hired to watch over a flock of sheep on the movie title's mountain. The two men are polar opposites - Ennis is the mumbly, quiet chain-smoker engaged to be married while Jack is the younger, idealistic one. One cold night, Jack has Ennis sleep in the tent so Ennis doesn't freeze and from that point the real story begins. The attraction the two men feel is foreign and scary to both of these good ol' boys. Their physical encounter is passionate & aggressive - something Jack & Ennis have never experienced with others. It is on this night that the men form their 'bond' - a love for one another that cannot be spoken of to others, yet they deny themselves the chance to be together. The fateful day comes when their jobs end and both men go their separate ways and attempt to live 'normal lives. Ennis marries Alma and has 2 girls; Jack also ties the knot and sires a son. Over the course of 20 years, the men meet up and unify their bond. Of course, with any great love story ultimately comes tragedy...To label BROKEBACK the 'gay cowboy' film is ludicrous, in my opinion. This is a film of raw human emotion, pure and simple. Everyone wants love - everyone wants to be in love. The love between Jack and Ennis is tangible and powerful, yet these two plain ordinary men cannot explain it, even to themselves. Their actual conversations are few and far between, but in the case of Ennis, his silence speaks volumes! The performances in this film is really what blew me away. Heath Ledger is a revelation - his Ennis Del Mar is a tortured soul, a man who cannot have the love he wants. Jake Gyllenhaal is very good in the less showy role of Jack Twist. Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway are dead-on as the respective wives of Ennis and Jack.
This movie deserves its long life! As the film's tag line says - "Love is a Force of Nature". I will carry this movie with me for a long time to come.