all hyped up and no place to go...

Rating: 10/10 (14 December 2005)

the rule goes that the artistic success of a film is in direct inverse relationship to the amount of hype surrounding it. you know - the quiet sleeper no one's heard of breaking all box-office records vs. the-most-anticipated-film-event-of-the-decade showing up at blockbuster on DVD a week after it opens, and so it goes with "brokeback mountain."
although i was deeply moved by annie proulx's short story, and i count ang lee's "ice storm" and "crouching tiger..." among my favorite films, sadly this film falls short of its mark. don't get me wrong  this is not a bad movie, it just does not live up to the hype nor deliver the emotional impact of the original material. first, i want to address some of the cacophonous hype surrounding it:
the sex  it's not nearly as graphic nor as prolific as in the short story. the film seems to self-consciously pull away from the sensuality of the book and while it may make the film more palatable to a wider audience, ultimately the film suffers from it. without the visual cue provided by the physical relationship, it's hard to feel the intensity of the connection between the two lead characters. (and why is sex so much harder to accept in film than graphic violence???)
the nudity  very brief, non-sexual (skinny dipping, bathing) and then only in long shot, completely tasteful and appropriate. again, why is the human body capable of stirring up so much controversy??? people just need to get over their body issues!
the effect  so much has been written about how this movie will enlighten everyone's concept of gay relationships. i honestly doubt it. if you liked gay people before seeing this movie, you will still like them. if you didn't like gay people before seeing this movie, you still won't like them. it's really not that transformative.
the acting  heath ledger wears his wyoming cowboy much like he wears his scrunchy cowboy hat  available at any mall, pre-distressed cowboy hats are quite popular these days, but they don't carry the psychic weight of the real thing - worn, used, and abused by an authentic cowboy. his performance is superficial  it looks real, but it doesn't feel real. without the sensuous descriptions in proux's story, the flatlined cowboy character with few words isn't very engaging.
great location and amazing cinematography make the film visually pleasing. the production design really captures the character and culture of wyoming ranchers. the film follows the original story closely, just not intimately, so while it's a very good movie, it's not a great movie.