Universal Love?

Rating: 10/10 (26 January 2006)

This movie has a haunting sense about it (that is the best word I have found to describe it) and I think Gyllenhaal performance has a lot do with that. As a gay man people might find it obvious that this movie would hit me so profoundly but I think some of these previous comments are a testament to the movie's general cinematic brilliancewhich goes far beyond 'gay appeal'. I do however find all this talk about 'universal love' a bit problematic (and very interesting). Although there is no simple/ultimate distinctness between 'gay' and 'straight' love, no two loves are ever the same and the love that Jake and Ennis shared IS particular to their gender. I believe love is experienced particular to time and space and not simply felt because you happened upon the right person. As such Jake's love is a 'gay love' and their situation is a 'gay situation' (the story depends on them being two men living in rural American at that point in time). So I guess what I'm trying to say is that it bothers me that people always want to forcefully reject its description as a 'gay love story' and insist it is simply a 'love story'. It is in fact a beautiful gay love story and that shouldn't make it any less! Thanks!