More than it seems

Rating: 10/10 (13 March 2006)

The biggest shame about BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is that it was, and may forever be known as, the "gay cowboy movie." Is STAR WARS "that space opera"? VERTIGO "that dizzy cop picture"? The phrase simply became a shorthand for the controversy -- an easy way for conservatives to dismiss it, but also for liberals to make it clear that the words "gay" and "cowboy" are not mutually exclusive. Certainly they are not. Gays are everywhere, every style and age and profession; they have a variety of characteristics, from flamboyantly flighty to brutally macho. It is no more unlikely that there were gay cowboys in 1960 than in 2005, merely that no one talked about it back then. That said, Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar are not "gay cowboys;" they are cowboys who happen to fall in love. Does it matter that it is with each other? Haven't stories about forbidden love been around since Tristan & Isolde, or Romeo & Juliet? Isn't the real question, How well is the story told? Does it resonate for the audience? On that score, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is a marvel of storytelling. Ang Lee uses silences as well as anyone this side of Jean-Claude Annaud, telling his story visually, and setting it up so no one person is the antagonist: Society is. This is deeply felt movie-making that transcends the label "gay cowboy movie." It's a career performance for Heath Ledger and a brilliant revelation for Michelle Williams. I hope everyone sees it.