More than a pleasant surprise

Rating: 8/10 (9 January 2006)

I honestly had no idea what to expect walking in to this film; the trailer was laughable, intriguing at best, and although everything I heard was positive, it was also vague, as if to preserve some precious secret. What caught me off guard was that the secret was blatantly obvious: Brokeback Mountain goes beyond the boundaries of any particular genre. There is, in large part, romance, but it can almost be looked on as a seriocomedy at points as Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) fall for each other in a kind of awkward, stumbling fashion. You've likely all heard the story by now: boy meets boy, boys fall in love, boys drift apart, boys attempt to overcome obstacles to retain their love. Not exactly a standard Hollywood story-- and this is what makes it so good. It's a touching account, a bittersweet love ballad in filmic form; it's not just two men having sex, it's two people attracted on the basis of personality and companionship. It's safe to say this is groundbreaking. Never has the cinematic mainstream seen something so counter-culture based, yet still sound in terms of quality and staying power. With exceptional performances by each and every actor, a haunting, equal parts sparse and full score, and so much more than two teen idols hooking up. This is an intensely emotional experience, far beyond the barriers set by usual mainstream movies. A-.