A true depiction of forbidden love...

Rating: 9/10 (2 June 2006)

It's been a while since I saw Brokeback Mountain, but it's emotive content still resonates to this day.
To over-analyse this film would do it a disservice, as it is in it's simplicity that the story revels.
Although focusing upon the forbidden love of two men (set in the ultra masculine world of cowboys and rodeos), it manages to convey the warmth, devotion and unrequited emotions of essentially a couple who happen to fall in love.
Here's lies it's magic; the two leads (played with exceptional restraint by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall) quietly invite the viewer into their relationship, gradually making one feel they are watching an intimate piece of reality.
The essence of the story could be transposed to any supposedly socially forbidden coupling (bi-racial, lesbianism, etc) but it's core message is one of sustaining a love that has to be hidden and never explored to it's full potential.
Ang Lee (as always) provides a beautiful cinematic back drop to the evolving epic and clearly allowed the actors to freely explore the range of their characters.
I could go on but I feel the best way for any potential viewers to embrace the magic of this film is to pick a quiet afternoon, rent the DVD and settle back to enjoy what is truly an exceptional piece of movie making.