Landmark Classic...but it could have been so much more

Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2006)

There are so many moments in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN where you wonder, doesn't anybody just cry it out once in a while? Having recently gone through a heart-wrenching long distance relationship, I know the anguish these men wore on their faces. It's no chore, probably even for utter homophobes, to get over the gay thing. The film deftly handles how they consummate their love, making it seem raw and tender and genuine, not flirty and flamboyant as gay men are so often portrayed in pop-culture. In fact, it doesn't really feel like a "gay" film, it's just a plain old love story which is gut-wrenchingly sad. That said, I couldn't help but wonder if this could have been one for the ages. They're calling it the gay Gone With the Wind, but it's more emotionally spare than that.
Heath Ledger is a force on screen. In a moment at the beginning, he has the look of a lost 5 year old boy. He's laconic not to be cool or tough, but because deep inside he trembles at the entire world. It's a simple look, probably unplanned, but he shows just a little the inner turmoil that he cannot let loose. He's not just a closeted homosexual, he's closeted about everything.
This film might run away with the Best Picture Oscar and years from now people will remember a defining moment (perhaps) in the gay rights movement. This could be, in a way, the gay "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" Perhaps not a flawless masterpiece, but a humanizing look into the taboos of our times. Just like all classic screen lovers, you yearn for them to make it out together and happy, but the prejudices of others always seem to end that, don't they. Overall, an excellent film, certainly nothing too salacious for even your most staunch Republican conservative male. Surprising as it may sound to say it, this film was just a bit too chaste, but I suppose that's more an issue with our times.