Beautiful, groundbreaking, historical

Rating: 10/10 (14 December 2005)

The midnight screening at the arc light cinema in Hollywood was a tremendous milestone for me.
This film exhibits what people continually ask for from the movies today: originality.
Ang Lee took a difficult story and translated it into a fantastic film. The luminous landscapes coupled with the well-paced story give the movie a feeling of dimension and grandeur, while not overpowering the tremendous work of the actors.
Heath Ledger, whom I previously thought of as a piece of eye-candy rarely well-utilized, really takes the seeds of talent he exhibited in Monster's Ball and allows them to come to fruition in Ennis Del Mar. His inner turmoil and inherently awkward nature are painful enough to watch; add in the explosively desirous and possibly dangerous character of jack Twist played by Jake Gyllenhaal and the near-tangible temperament of the 1960's and it's enough to make your heart break.
Every member of the supporting cast comes correct and makes this world a reality. Anne Hathaway is gorgeous (even beneath a country-fright-wig in a few scenes) and makes the most of each and every scene she has, taking Jake's charisma and meeting it wink for wink. Rounding out the film with the daring and emotive Michelle Williams we have a quartet of the most amazing young actors and actresses in Hollywood right now, and if they continues to make choices like this, I will follow them no matter where they go.
I was afraid that this movie might be yet another attempt by Hollywood to do something daring which resulted in clichÃ©s and let-downs. The surprising truth is that regardless of one's sexuality, this film is a beautiful example of that elusive thing: undying love. I have a feeling this movie will be preaching to the choir, but I sincerely hope that others will give it a chance.