With all those sheep, why would you choose another man?

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2006)

Sometimes the dark recesses of my grandmotherly mind surprise me. As a liberal with 2 homosexual cousins who are outstanding members of society and a resident of the only state to allow homosexual marriage, I had a strange reaction. The cinematography in this movie is so outstanding, you have to think, "How could a wife with 2 crying babies compete with this splendor?" I know better of course, as I hope you do, as well.
Is 'stemming the rose' an expression I'm supposed to know? I didn't, but Randy Quaid delivered it well. 'Coach' also did an excellent, completely opposite to his usual roles, portrayal as the father of one of the boys. Having just seen "The Knight's Tale" on TV, the golden-haired jousting knight was not discernible in this mumbling, shy cowboy.
The script was exquisite: "When you ain't got nothing, you don't need nothing." "What you can't change, you have to stand." See it twice to be sure you get all the finely tuned phrases, spoken roughly and haltingly, torn from their anguished souls. The subplots rang true, especially that showing the relationship between one of the daughters and Ennis. The actress does a great job of showing the genetic similarity of the daughter to the father, polite and shy.
One question: Was this script written BEFORE the boy was murdered in Wisconsin/Montana/Wyoming (I forget which state), left to die on a fence after being beaten so severely? Both those wives were portrayed understatedly, showing by a look their growing awareness of their husband's 'condition'. The scene in which the divorced wife attacks her ex in the kitchen actually made me fear for his safety. But still, so repressed were they at the time that they couldn't even give voice to the specific 'charge'. Beautifully expressed in halting voices or hard nervous looks.
Bravery, a 'manly' virtue, is shown every day of a homosexual male's life. By being 'out' in a hate-filled society such as ours that is always looking for a scapegoat, they risk humiliation, ridicule and physical danger daily...depending on their environment. One of my cousins has lived a terribly repressed life alone, because he has been so afraid of the repercussions from outing himself. That's why I was so thankful for the episode that showed this bravery, as the farm equipment salesman, Jack Twist, stands down his overbearing father-in-law (also his employer) in a Thanksgiving turkey carving, TV-clicking drawdown.
Another remarkable aspect of the script was that the author used two completely non-stereotypical men to show how they lived with their homosexuality...without the protective enclosure offered to urban homosexuals by their well-educated, cultured fellows... making the movie even more powerful.
As homophobic as our society is, even in Ma., I'm amazed at the reception to this movie. I've noticed that sometimes the public shies away from such movies as "Good Night and Good Luck", equally excellent in script, photography, acting but dealing with the moral rot of McCarthyism which we're having a recurrence of. Even some critics mistake the SUBJECT matter for the movie components in making their judgments, or let their biases toward the subject matter shade their opinion of the movie itself. That's not been true in this case.
Still, I had to watch this movie in an 'arts' theatre, the Landmark Embassy, not one of the multiplexes. This isn't to say that 'Brokeback Mountain' isn't being shown there, just that most movies dealing with homosexuality are shown only in the 'art houses'.
If any of you think that we're through with THIS form of prejudice, now that we have Muslims to kick around, come to my town in the bluest of the blue states, Ma. The corrupt Catholic church, loudly proclaiming its ignorance, still preaches against the 'sin' of homosexuality....promoting hatred toward their fellow man. Of course, they can quote the Pope as an authority, but they easily ignore the Pope's sanctions AGAINST capital punishment and this immoral war, fought for greedy corporations. Homophobia is still alive and well, as the kid who committed suicide in Canton a few years ago, could attest to if he were still alive. Some of these haters are trying to get the Ma. legislature to revoke homosexuals' right to marriage, and we have enough hate-filled ignorant voters in this state for it to succeed. Maybe this movie will remind them of the love for our fellow man that Jesus taught us to show, and that pseudo-Christians ignore. See the movie.