No Pushing

Rating: 6/10 (8 January 2006)

I just saw this movie. A theater full of women, and an odd few men,
left crying. I wasn't crying.
Was this really the so called 'love story of the year' as it has been so generously coined already? I don't think so. It was pretty good, but it didn't really break a boundary for me, or for the audience it is being shown too. I live in Conservative Alberta, and I was impressed with the baby step the film took, but I was hoping for it to push further. Of course, this is a lot of pressure for a film, considering that it is already under so much pressure being the 'gay cowboy movie'. The problem I have with it is-it WAS the 'gay cowboy movie'. I didn't fully receive a performance inflicting the undeniable 'forces of nature' consistently shown throughout the movie. I felt that it was a little bit more focused on dealing with a gay relationship, than actually being in the relationship. There was a lot of everyone else and not enough time with Ennis and Jack. The moments were so brief, maybe to emphasize the shortness of time they were together, but what love? There were short glances of what could have been really very emotional, moreover, touching scenes- but there was just a lot of arguing about them moving up and away to the little ranch and having their little life. The movie was upsetting, because they couldn't be together, and how hard it was living in these times being gay- but where is the unconditional love? Where were the scenes to convince an audience of a love coming from a soul, and being unconditional, having nothing to do with gender? This was very much about gender, and not so much love. I think the movie needs a different tag-line.
Apart from the false advertising, I believed Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhal's performances were really impressive, especially Ledger. The aging was subtle and very effective in the sense of time.
We've still have a long way to go.