The slippery slope of choices and expectations...and the collateral damage

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2005)

Director Ang Lee renders a superb and restrained interpretation of Annie Proulx's short story. Heath Ledger delivers an unforgettable performance as the enigmatic Ennis Del Mar. With a single look, he manages to convey the unquenchable fire burning in a character who, despite physical strength, fortitude, and masculinity, is unable to extricate himself from the prison of his own choices. Jake Gyllenhaal is refreshing as Jack Twist. There is something incredibly optimistic about Jack but, nevertheless, as youth fades, so do his options.
Brokeback Mountain is the tale of two young men, who set off on an odyssey together as cowboys herding sheep up a mountain. Driven by perhaps loneliness or necessity or, perhaps truth, their companionship blooms lust and then, unexpectedly, forbidden love.
Throughout the movie, despite their efforts, we learn that this is a love from which they cannot escape. Indeed, what is poignant about the movie is that their choices to ignore and escape this reality, their choices to pursue the life that society tells them would make them happy and "full" men, leads everywhere but to happiness.
When the movie ends, we are left to ponder the answers to the questions posed by this modern fable: What is the meaning of the good life? How can a man (or a woman) overcome the expectations of society and of himself to secure true happiness?