What a double standard!

Rating: 4/10 (24 January 2006)

Before I even begin to explain why this movie was such an enormous letdown, allow me to first state that several of my best friends are gay, and I was DYING to see this movie from the second I heard about it. However, if you are expecting a romantic love story, this is in no way such a thing. I find it very hard to believe that critics would have categorized this film as a romance if it was involving heterosexuals. For instance, the very first "love scene" involving Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal did not involve any kissing, touching, or romantic gestures...simply pure, raw, and almost angry sex without any foreplay whatsoever. If Gyllenhaal's character had been a woman, would that be considered a loving scene? Definitely not. Throughout the movie, the two men meet for countless weekend getaways, but are still willing and able to live strait lives, such as making love to their wives...so doesn't that constitute them as bisexual? I was completely unsold on the fact that these men were even remotely in love with one another...they were merely too fearful to come to terms with the fact that they enjoyed a male romp from time to time. Their "love" was only defined by the fact that they were unable to admit their secret desires to anyone else, leaving them basically stuck with only one another. Lust and passion definitely exist, but the idea of mistaking that for romance seems almost absurd to me. Films such as "Unfaithful", dealing with heterosexual infidelity would never have the audacity to try and pass off a sexual affair as an unending love. I feel as though the critics that praised this movie as touching and romantic were almost afraid to say otherwise, in fear of stereotyping homosexual affairs. There is no way that they would have felt the same way if Ledger's character had been ruining his wife and children's lives with another woman. Unfortunately, double standards such as this are constantly overlooked, due to the fact that everyone is terrified of upsetting gay rights organizations. It was also difficult to have sympathy for the two men portrayed, when after twenty years had passed, they were still unwilling to come out, despite the fact it was the early eighties. It seems quite implausible that two people, gay or strait, would essentially give up such a tremendous love for one another, based on outsiders' perceptions. Overall, the story was well told and nicely acted, but in terms of portraying an emotional romance, they sadly missed their mark.