Had Enough Homosexuality on the Big Screen Yet?

Rating: Null/10 (19 February 2006)

Had to dunk this one. Why? Well, once again -- as with "Ice Storm" -- Ang Lee gives us the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography: In fact, considering the characters, the mountain is the real star of this film.
Michelle Williams performance: Playing Ennis's wife, her pivotal scene, though brief, packs more drama and pathos than all the rest. She is a sympathetic character in a movie where the average viewer will find little to identify with.
The Bad
Ang Lee's direction: He often allows dallies on nature shots and presents scenes where absolutely nothing happens. It's like Ang thought he was shooting a wilderness flick, where the overpowering wildness of nature would contribute to the emotion of the picture. In a gay love story? ... I don't think so. Another hackneyed decision was allowing Ennis, a clichÃ©d "strong, silent type", to mumble most of his dialogue. This is heavy-handed and unnecessary.
Editing: The film often makes odd cuts from one scene to the next, when you feel like the first hadn't played itself out yet. A good example are the fight scenes at the bar and on the 4th of July. Nothing seems to come to resolution, though much is promised. A sad echo of the whole movie.
Characters: The characters aren't developed enough. Sure, it's difficult to make a film where the key players (whom the audience is supposed to identify with) are homosexual. But we need a little more character development than seeing Ennis drunk and angry or stilted and mute. Jack had the most promise, yet his own character is little more than a shallowly-drawn cartoon.
The Ugly
Pace: If the film moved any slower, they'd have to show it backwards. 2.25 hours becomes an eternity where the viewer is simply waiting for something to happen.
Material: Here we come to the single biggest drawback of "Brokeback Mountain". The material is OLD and the story has been told way, way, too many times in recent decades. We've had requited gay love. Unrequited gay love. Partially requited gay love ... we have seen it all way too much and are beyond the capacity to be shocked or interested by it anymore. Don't think so? Well, only one way to prove the case. Let's take a look at the flood of gay love movies -- even just at the lesbian side! -- before "Brokeback" ever came along: While most will remember Hilary Swank booted up and lezzed out in "Boys Don't Cry", how about "Personal Best", "But I'm a Cheerleader", "Go Fish", "Desert Hearts", "Better than Chocolate", "It's in the Water", "When Night is Falling", "Two Girls in Love", "Lost and Delirious", "All Over Me", "Monster", "Tipping the Velvet", "If These Walls Could Talk 2", "Bound", "A Girl Thing", "The Truth About Jane", "An Unexpected Love", "Heavenly Creatures", "Show Me Love" (aka Amal), "D.E.B.S.", "Where the Boy's Aren't", "Heatwave 2", "Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit", "Saving Face" ... and I won't even drop "The L Word" to say how much TV fare follows suit.
Now "Brokeback Mountain" appears, yet another screenplay that demonstrates Hollywood's ceaseless rediscovery of homosexuality. We can add it to a rapidly-growing collection of similarly-themed movies: "Transamerica", "Mayor of Castro Street", etc. And you know how TV will be following this up. "Queer as Folk" won't make a pixel on the tsunami that will roll in behind a "Brokeback" win on Oscar night.
Enough of the gay themed movies, already! I'm not saying homosex is twisted ... just that it's not a fountain of everlasting fascination. Tinseltown, get back to escapist movie-making and leave the social topicality to TV!