A film that will never grow old.

Rating: 10/10 (3 May 2006)

I've watched countless films  the good and the bad  and I think I can count on two hands the number of films I've seen that possess the power to stay with the viewer long after the final credits roll. This is one of those films.
Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, both fine, capable actors, have reached down into some wondrous place within their souls and given us truly heartbreaking and vividly unforgettable characters. Ledger simply takes the film, tucks it tightly under his arm, and walks off with it. He so thoroughly embraces the role of the drawling, tormented, taciturn Ennis Del Mar that it is somewhat of a shock to see and hear him articulate (in his native Australian accent) in the DVD's bonus features. Could this possibly be the same person we saw moments earlier in the film?
Likewise, Gyllenhaal, who is building up an impressive and diverse resume of films, is seemingly poised to become one of our most gifted actors working today. Witness the scene where his feisty, opinionated Jack Twist sets out to visit Ennis, under the mistaken belief that Ennis's divorce has opened the door to a long-awaited and now-unobstructed relationship. In this segment he goes from an ecstatic cowpoke belting out a line of Roger Miller's "King of the Road" (playing on his truck's radio) to a picture of tearful, utter devastation minutes later, following his face-to-face meeting with Ennis, in an ending segment, back in his truck, that is beautifully underscored by Emmylou Harris's haunting "A Love That Will Never Grow Old." Throughout the film, Gyllenhaal's facial expressions alone  eyebrows that convey thoughts without a spoken word, an embarrassed glance at Ennis while fighting a belligerent horse, a sad, distant longing in his eyes during a flashback sequence of happier times  are the stuff of movie magic.
Swirling around these two actors is a quintet of striking female performances  from Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Linda Cardellini, Anna Faris, and Kate Mara. All have taken their characters and made them their own. Williams, as Alma, makes a flawless transition from a lovingly devoted wife to that of a grimly determined spouse desperately trying to hold on to something that has shockingly evaporated before her disbelieving eyes. As Alma Jr., Kate Mara is, particularly in the last scenes with her father (Ledger), absolutely radiant.
A sixth standout actress in this film deserves a special mention of her own. Roberta Maxwell, portraying Jack's mother, takes command of the screen in her brief, emotionally charged scenes and delivers a performance you will never forget.
I can't add any additional kudos to the cast and crew that haven't already been deservedly doled out elsewhere in countless reviews posted here by my fellow contributors. Everything clicks  Ang Lee's sweeping direction, Gustavo Santaolalla's sauntering musical score, a masterful screenplay by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry, and Annie Proulx's spellbinding short story, written almost a decade ago, that initially started any and all of us on our long journey to Brokeback Mountain.
The DVD of this film has sat in my DVD player for almost two weeks now, readily accessible  as if I've foolishly, inexplicably convinced myself that, if removed, these marvelous characters and their heartbreaking story will be lost to me forever. How irrational and illogical is that? I have no explanation.
See this film.