The "Unhappy Cowboy Flick"

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2005)

Derided as the "Gay Cowboy Flick" by those who would rather not know the truth, I prefer to call this the "Unhappy Cowboy Flick". And a great flick it is, with impressive acting, realistically sparse dialog that communicates mostly by facial expression and body language, beautiful photography, and the overwhelming sense that we have arrived in 1960's Wyoming and are trying hard to get along with its residents, its landscape, and weather. And working hard to herd sheep.
As you know from all the reviews, Brokeback Mountain is about two young cowboy co-workers who fall in love and then try harder to unsuccessfully fall out of it. Marriage and kids only makes things worse and rural America does not have place or identity for them.
Ang Lee is the director who shows he knows the culture of his setting inside and out. 1960's rural America is portrayed with sensitivity, and the gay element is shown with an insider's insight into the feelings, denials, conflicts, and fears experienced by gays afraid to come to terms with themselves. Heath Ledger as the Ennis De Mar and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist are incredible in showing us the heart of the matter: Ledger has the harder job and does it better because his is the nonverbal laconic character.
The gay angle is deeper than the reviewers and the movie trailer lets on. This film illustrates with devastating impact how an anti-gay society harms its citizens, showing how the main characters have no language to express their feelings, no concept of what it is to be gay, no confidence in themselves, and no realistic hope of being themselves and creating a viable life for themselves. Watching this film hurts terribly for those who have experienced the pains of a love that cannot be seen or known by others. The main characters reveal themselves to be losers in life, and by the end of the movie, we realize with much pain why this happens. It is hard not to reflect while walking out of the theater on the dozens of classmates, relatives, and acquaintances one has who might have become isolated drifters for the same reasons as the two cowboys.
The theater I was in (in San Francisco- America's gay safe-haven) was filled with loud unstoppable sobs as the movie wound to its conclusion. Many in the theater have lived the feelings and fears portrayed in the film, making Brokeback Mountain an American gay allegory rather than a mere gay cowboy flick.