A Masterpiece of Modern Cinema

Rating: 10/10 (1 July 2006)

Spectacular! There are no words to describe just how moving and honest and real this film is. The bottom line here is a message that transcends all barriers; gay or straight, male or female, rich or poor. The message is that love comes in many forms and if you are ever lucky enough to find a love so deep and strong, you must hang onto it regardless of all other outside factors. And when you don't, you very well could end up with nothing just as Ennis DelMar does. This is not a gay cowboy movie. It is an honest look at love and how two people who have the world against them try to follow their hearts but succumb to the pressures of a society that doesn't understand that love must transcend all.
I've read a lot of the other reviews and it seems that everyone has a different take on Jack and Ennis's relationship. But this is how I see it: Yes, they were both gay and they were both in love, not in lust, with each other. Lust doesn't last 20 years and the fact that they did go on to have so-called "normal" relationships with the women they married was not because they were bisexual but because they were doing what they thought they "had" to do. They tried hard to deny who they really were inside and married women, had families, then girlfriends but this was all part of the social pressure they felt to be "normal". Jack had more guts than Ennis did and was desperate to have a life with him because he needed him and loved him so badly, but Ennis was too uncomfortable with his love for Jack, was too embarrassed by it and couldn't have followed his heart because he was too consumed with the murder of the gay man he'd witnessed as a child. It isn't until the end, when Jack is gone, that Ennis comes to the realization that he let the love of his life slip through his hands. His daughter has found love and is getting married, Alma has remarried and Ennis finds himself alone with nothing to love or hang onto because he let his fears and insecurities about who he was come before his true love for Jack. The lesson is a hard one but the message is simple: No matter who you are or who you love, don't let anyone tell you who you should be. If you have love to give, give it freely and to whomever you wish. Never, never, never deny your heart.