Very good, but not great

Rating: Null/10 (15 January 2007)

This is a sad, complex, sometimes beautiful film with some great performances. However, the last third of Brokeback is hamstrung by Ang Lee's ponderous directing style.
In general, I find Lee's films cold and brooding, if not altogether dull. Much of Brokeback Mtn. bucks this trend. Ledger and Gyllenhaal give passionate, inspired performances, although Ledger's is a bit more believable; his eyes convey the weight of his conflict more than Jake G's occasional histrionics. The toll of their forbidden lust, which they mask through marriage and family, is at times excruciating to witness.
But during its last 30 minutes, the film undergoes a shift in tone that grinds proceedings to a near halt, and Lee's brooding directing style comes to the fore; it's not like I was expecting a car chase or something in the midst of such serious subject matter, but by the last frame Brokeback becomes inward-looking to the point of coma.