A Pleasant Surprise

Rating: 9/10 (6 January 2006)

I never have very high expectations for Hollywood films, so when I heard there was one about gay cowboys, I thought, "Oh no, now what?!" But, of course, everyone I know (and apparently the rest of the country, too) was going to see it, so I figured I'd give it a chance. Well, I'm glad I did. Not only was it genuinely good, it was actually remarkably sophisticated for a mainstream movie. In many ways, it reminded me of a Herzog film: nothing felt rushed, a lot relied on innuendo (in a good way) to convey inner thoughts and emotions, and there was some beautiful cinematography. Mostly I had heard that it was sad and, yes, that was true at times, but there was also some humour and, IMHO, some profound metaphor. I guess the fact that it's a hit is a good sign: audiences may be becoming more sophisticated (which, hopefully, will result in the film industry responding, specifically in the arena of bigger-budgeted films). So do yourself a favour and check out "Brokeback Mountain."