my brokeback experience

Rating: 7/10 (19 March 2006)

after months of hype about this movie, i finally saw it.
my first impression? the movie was OK. not the "epic" love story, it's been made out to be. very quiet, honest movie. there were a bunch of boring scenes, and before you knew it it was over. i guess the lack of emotions and the quiet tone of the film had to be there in order to bring out the realism of the characters and place and time, but i was just like "is that it?". just didn't engage me very much. the quiet, accented, mumbled dialogue was frustrating. i couldn't make out half of what they were saying. Especially the last line, i had no idea what ennis said. i had to come on IMDb to find out.
speaking of IMDb, that's when i first noticed that this movie has touched a lot of people greatly. was i missing something, i thought? i went over the threads to find out what happened during those "I can't hear what they're saying scenes" and found out that there might be some more meaning to this film than i thought. i then read the short story online. pretty good. i noticed that the movie was very faithful to the source material. almost all the dialogue remains the same from word to film. i like the author's writing style. very plain with spare details, but powerful nonetheless. after reading her short story, it really touched me.
i went back to the movie again. the words from the short story and the praise from reviews and filmgoers alike kind of made this movie better for me. i still don't think it's that great, but i must agree with everyone that it's very poignant and afterwards, when you think back on it, it brings back thoughts and emotions of loneliness, regret, and quiet despair, which we have all gone through.
with all that's said and done, this movie is undoubtedly VERY original and not in a weird, stupid independent movie kind of way. i don't think i've ever seen a movie where the gay characters are taken so seriously and where the focus is on the actual love between the characters. acting-wise, everyone is good. i really like anne hathaway (guess that differs from most other viewers). she had too few scenes. every time she's on screen though, she brings a much needed energy and spunk to the film. even in that phone scene. a nice balance between vulnerabilty, coldness, and compassion.
so in conclusion, watch this movie. it's thought-provoking and haunting.
PS: like the rest of the music in the film, that willie nelson song in the end is very sad and depressing, but fits the ending to a tee.