"Old Brokeback got us good" - A searing, heartbreaking love story, the BEST of 2005

Rating: 10/10 (2 December 2005)

I just saw an advance screening of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN this week - and was literally blown away by the film's force of nature. What to say about the brilliant new film that was a long time coming, could have gone so wrong, but now feels so right? As a fan of Annie Proulx's short story that originally appeared in The New Yorker 1997 and later in her collection CLOSE RANGE, I was amazed how filmmakers involved - the screenwriters, the director, and the brave, talented cast - so expertly distilled - yet somehow expanded - the very essence of her prose to the screen. In that rare instance of an acclaimed work transforming from page to screen, almost nothing was lost in translation, and the final result is nearly perfect. BROKEBACK speaks to me in such a thoroughly personal way that few movies ever do. This film isn't just about the best "gay" film ever, it's one of the best films, period, I've ever seen. At turns inspiring, erotic, poignant, and finally heartbreaking, this stunning film is a miracle of economy: not one shot, line of dialogue, or gesture is wasted. The sheer visceral emotional impact working from material so sparse can't be denied. Anyone who is human can't fail to be moved to tears by the film's tragic finale, which must be one of the saddest climaxes ever filmed. While even the supporting roles are expertly cast and finely shaded, the central actors - especially JAKE & HEATH - give raw, nuanced, brave performances that are pitch-perfect. Nothing HEATH has done before quite prepares us for his brooding, inarticulate, internalized performance, while the effortlessly endearing JAKE tackles what could be the more difficult role (Jack's love interest to Ennis' Alpha male) with guts & grace, and MICHELLE WILLIAMS finds subtle notes few knew the actress had. Instead of being limited by gay or straight terms, BROKEBACK transcends all boundaries to become an instant classic, an epic doomed love story for all people, for the ages. It's a searing, shattering masterpiece (there, I said it) that will, hopefully, open minds and hearts, while speaking volumes about "the love that dare not speak it name" no matter what the decade. After an ill-advised detour into summer "tent pole" action flicks, gifted director ANG LEE returns to what he does best, mounting perceptive, piercingly emotional human dramas on an intimate scale. Here, he walks a difficult tightrope, honestly depicting the roughly physical relationship between Jack and Ennis, never going for the cheap shot, yet never turning away from the truth. While there were a few moments when I wished Lee would have pushed the envelope a bit further to candidly show the sexual reality of Jack & Ennis' decade-spanning affair (the book is much more blunt about matters behind closed doors), it didn't seem quite right for the period, the deeply closeted context of that lost era. Just like Proulx's prose, less is always more. Special kudos for the soundtrack, featuring stellar contributions from Emmylou Harris, Rufus Wainright, Willie Nelson, and more. I will say this: no film in recent memory has affected me quite this way, quite this deeply. After walking out of the theater, I felt a profound melancholy that wouldn't go away. I went home, put on the CD soundtrack, re-read Annie's short story, and again was moved to tears. Days later, the film still haunts me. It won't let go. As Jack put it, "Old Brokeback got us good."