Brokback Moutain a must see for the over 50 crowd (and others too)

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2005)

It is a beautiful movie - thorough and thoughtful. I enjoyed it, but, as a gay man, I did not enjoy it as much as i thought i would due to it not feeling particularly relevant to me as I live completely out of the closet....though it did resonant with some of my distant memories. I am quite sure it resonates and is timely for many folks in different stages of self-acceptance. That said, there is nothing to actually criticize because, for the story Ang is telling, it is so well done.
I am not impressed with some of the hype that suggests that these were "very difficult roles....and the sex scenes, oh, how hard for them to play...such good, difficult work?" I saw these comments made by one of the female actresses and one of the male actors. HELLO? This is pure homophobic nonsense and actually insults me. Gay men play straight roles all the time and we don't have to congratulate them. Is playing a gay man so very difficult, so very foreign...are we that alien? strange? These comments speak to the commentator's ignorance and internalized homophobia which they would probably deny.
The criticism regarding the female roles not being given enough weight is unfounded. It is not their story...though their story is arguably equally riveting..... For that story, I would recommend "Making Love" in which Kate Jackson's performance is fantastic. Actually, i would recommend that movie over Brokeback any day (less emphasis about beauty, more about substance).