Brokeback Mountain- a moving and powerful film.

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2006)

SPOILERS THROUGH:
I'll start by saying right away that Brokeback Mountain is a haunting, touching and powerful film. I have no doubt this film will win many awards and it should. I'd been looking forward to it and luckily this is one that did not let me down.
I hate to echo a line that so many others have already said but it happens to be true so I will. This is SO MUCH more then a "gay cowboy" movie which is what many have pigeonholed it as. This movie is about the love between two men true enough. But it contains so much to it. One does not need to be gay to appreciate this. However, if one is bothered by the subject matter or does not like dramas, love stories, period films or films with a western theme it is probably not for them.
To me Brokeback Mountain is about love yes but also innocence. Jack and Ennis are two men both played with enthralling intensity by Gylanthal and Ledger, who have loved each other and gone on to make other lives for themselves. Their lives are full, if not happy ones but as time goes on, it's clear to these men and to the audience how one summer on Brokeback Mountain has shaped them and how much they mean to each other. This is really a movie you feel as well as see.
Brokeback Mountain is not fast moving, it does not get in one's face with it's forcefulness, to the contrary the movie moves extremely slowly and just sort of starts to envelop you in the lives of the people on the screen, their sadness, longing and dreams. It's subtle, quiet and touching. It is powerful. It makes you cry but not in the way certain tragic romances do, although there is certainly tragedy involved here. But this is a more quiet and almost mysterious kind of powerful. Nothing's milked, it kind of just appears on screen. The movie is always quiet and vibrant as a summer's breeze. It's bittersweet.
Ledger and Gylenthal are both simply incredible. In their performances and their scenes together, they are able to show a large range of emotions as we see these individuals experience so much. We see love, passion, anger, tenderness, yearning, playfulness and friendship. Those are the things that this movie is about.
There are certain scenes in this movie that need no dialog as they are tenderly touching in and of themselves. One example is when Ennis dissolves into tears in Jack's arms. Another beautiful scene enfolds as these men play together and jump into the water on Brokeback Mountain. And at the end in a very intense moment, Ennis clasps Jack's shirt and smells it. These scenes tell as much about these individual's relationship as any line of Dialogue.
My one complaint isn't with the film, it is that Gylenthal is not getting the buzz that Ledger is and that should not be the case because he is outstanding and as good as Ledger. I first really took note of Gylenthal in "The Good Girl" where I found him incredible but in Brokeback Mountain he is even better then that. Gylenthal's Jack inspires so many emotions and with Gylenthal it's all in the eyes. There are certain performers who can convey as much with their expressions as with any dialog and that is the case here. Gylenthal is a gifted and Brilliant actor and is certainly destined to leave a strong mark on the world of cinema.
Ledger too is wonderful but he has been getting so much buzz it's almost not necessary to say that. There were certain things I'd have liked to see in Brokeback Mountain, more of Jack and Ennis's relationships with their wives for one, as well as pumping up the volume a bit-it got kind of difficult to understand every line of dialog sometimes. I still think that it's one of the best films of the year.
And of coarse there is the brilliant direction by Ang Lee and the almost unreal,untouched beauty of Brokeback Mountain. This movie may haunt afterward and for people who WANT to see this, one thing it probably won't do is disappoint. My vote's 10 of 10.