Splendid

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2005)

My partner and I saw this film together (something I recommend to everyone: see it with the one you love) and as we both grew up as gay men in the time portrayed, we know something of what these two were facing, in a time when other gay people were invisible and spoken about in whispers, if at all.
This film is the best adaptation of a short story I've ever seen, expanding it without bloating it. It's beautifully photographed, the use of music and sound is very effective, the actors look and sound exactly as their characters should, and in the manner of the greats of the screen, like Tracy, Stewart and Fonda (and in the current time, Ed Harris and Kenneth Branagh) the two leads become their characters with utter simplicity and economy of means.
The subject matter is handled unflinchingly, with no hiding and no cheap shots. The scenes of passion are awesomely done, some of the best (gay or straight) that I've seen on film: you can taste their longing and need for each other.
I have two small quibbles with the screenplay as photographed. In Ms. Proulx's concisely written story, when Eannis and Jack are having sex for the first time, at the climax Jack says, "Gun's going off." That strikes me as perfectly in character and would have added much to the story as filmed. But he doesn't say that.
Also, when they meet again after four years, embracing and kissing with passion and sheer relief at being together again, they pull apart and Ennis (accordinig to the author, "not one for endearments") using the phrase he says to his horse and daughters, says to Jack, "Little darlin'". That phrase humanizes their relationship, Ennis' character, and takes it all beyond sex to love. I waited with bated breath for the filmed character to say this line...but he doesn't! This accounts I think for the negative comments here from "Christian" viewers, that the film is only about lust, not love, thereby somehow proving that that is all a same sex relationship is, in their view. So why leave out this particular line? Did the producers think that a loving relationship was less acceptable to a general audience than a purely sexual one?
I think the reason why the story this depicts is so relevant today is because the culture still does not support and provide equal rights for same-sex relationships. "Heterosexual" married men still feel they must lead secretly "same-sex" lives on the side, without their wives' knowledge. The findings of Kinsey more than fifty years ago are still true in 21st century America. I have known quite a number of these men in my time. This is unfair to them, to their wives and families, and to the other men involved. And, as depicted in this film, can lead to tragic circumstances, including suicide, murder and health issues.
This film is a great achievement, deserving of every award it gets.