Of Mice and Men revisited

Rating: 7/10 (8 July 2006)

Brokeback Mountain (2005), directed by Ang Lee, is based on a New Yorker short story by E. Annie Proulx, and has a screenplay by Larry McMurtry. Although Lee is Chinese, he appears to have a good feel for the western U.S., and, of course, both Proulx and McMurtry have demonstrated their expertise in portraying this region.
The story is well known to everyone--two young men have a same-sex love relationship that persists after each has a wife and children. The point of the story is that this love is difficult to display in the best of circumstances, and impossible to display in their circumstances.
The problem with this film for me is that the only memorable aspect of both men is their love for each other. Other than their hidden love, they don't demonstrate any positive characteristics--intelligence, honesty, or kindness. Each man makes his wife unhappy, and neither is a satisfactory parent.
The tragedy of this film is that two lives that could have been happy are robbed of the possibility of happiness. This reflects a societal problem that I consider a disgrace. Moreover, their unhappiness causes unhappiness in others that spreads out in a ripple effect.
One problem for me is that I thought the film was uncharitable to both wives. The film presented them as obstacles to happiness, while I thought they should have been considered as victims of the same forces to which their husbands were subjected. (Incidentally, Michelle Williams was outstanding in the thankless role as one of the wives.)
Brokeback Mountain is an important movie about an important theme. However, I would have enjoyed this film more if it had been about characters for whom I had more affection.