An achievement in its own way

Rating: 7/10 (27 February 2006)

Two cowboys in Wyoming are just looking for work when one day they happen to get the same job herding sheep about Brokeback Mountain. For a while it's a day-in, day-out job as they slowly get tired of beans, but then, one cold night, they get a bit drunk, they get a bit confused, and the next thing you know they're in love but don't know how to deal with it. The story follows their lives over the years as they try and manage families, keep their secrets, and yet still find time to see each other despite living in different states and having completely different lives.
It's a slow, but beautiful build-up to their relationship, and then once it gets its momentum and finally starts moving, the film just gets better and better. Compliments, of course, are towards the performers (including the supporting actors) and the direction, and a lot of this films mythic quality is on the absolutely gorgeous shooting of the Brokeback Mountain area, the only really open area shown in the film--obviously because Ennis and Jake feel rather restricted by the normal world around them.
It's a good conceit, and a good theme, and tales of forbidden love and social commentary are great too. Unfortunately, this movie isn't free from its moments of camp... like in the tent, when Jake and Ennis are looking at each other and I couldn't help thinking, "But baby, a man's got needs!" Or the shot of the gutted sheep, and all the time it allows around it for one to think, "Well ain't ever'one feelin' gutted today?" Or when Jake and his wife are out with the society couple and the woman is talking about "Men never ask their wives to dance," and of course the obvious response would be something like, "Well that's 'cause I want to dance with your man!" I'd cite more examples, but I'd neither want to spoil it or completely ruin it for you, for afterall, unintentional humor aside, the story just keeps getting more and more involving until it finally hits it's real stride, with some pretty unforgettable moments and unforgettable emotion. Thus it is, in its own way, quite an achievement. Even nice little touches like the fireworks behind Ennis when he gets angry at the bikers and some rather abstract shots in the beginning keep this film engaging enough to ask us, gently, to have patience with it until it gets to where it's been meaning to go.
--PolarisDiB