Brokeback Mountain

Plot synopsis:
In 1963, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) are hired by Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid) to herd his sheep through the summer in the Wyoming mountains. After a night of heavy drinking, Jack makes a pass at Ennis, who is initially hesitant but eventually responds to Jack's advances. Despite Ennis informing Jack that it was a one-time incident, they develop a passionate sexual and emotional relationship. Shortly after discovering their summer together is being cut short, they briefly fight and each is bloodied.
After Jack and Ennis part ways, Ennis marries his longtime fiancée Alma Beers (Michelle Williams) and has two daughters with her. Jack returns the next summer seeking work, but Aguirre, who observed Jack and Ennis on the mountain, refuses to rehire him.
Jack moves to Texas, where he meets, marries, and has a son with rodeo rider Lureen Newsome (Anne Hathaway). After four years, Jack visits Ennis. Upon meeting, the two kiss passionately, which Alma observes. Jack broaches the subject of creating a life together on a small ranch, but Ennis, haunted by a childhood memory of the torture and murder of two men suspected of homosexual behavior, refuses. He is also unwilling to abandon his family. Ennis and Jack continue to meet for infrequent fishing trips.
The marriages of both men deteriorate. Lureen abandons the rodeo, going into business with her father and expecting Jack to work in sales. Alma and Ennis eventually divorce in 1975.
Hearing about Ennis' divorce, Jack drives to Wyoming. He suggests again that they should live together, but Ennis refuses to move away from his children. Jack finds solace with male prostitutes in Mexico. Ennis sees his family regularly until Alma finally confronts him about her knowing the true nature of his relationship with Jack. This results in a violent argument, causing Ennis to abandon his connections with Alma. Ennis meets and has a brief romantic relationship with Cassie Cartwright (Linda Cardellini), a waitress.
Jack and Lureen meet and befriend another couple, Randall (David Harbour) and Lashawn Malone (Anna Faris). It is implied that Jack begins an affair with Randall, although he later tells Ennis he had a relationship with a woman, who is assumed to be Lashawn.
At the end of a regular fishing trip with Jack, Ennis tries to delay their next meeting. Jack's frustration erupts into argument, and Ennis blames Jack for being the cause of his own conflicted actions. Ennis begins to cry. Jack tries to hold him and there is a brief struggle, but they end up locked in an embrace. Jack watches as Ennis drives away.
Some time later, Ennis receives a postcard he had sent to Jack, stamped "Deceased". He calls Lureen, who says that Jack died in an accident, when a tire he was changing exploded. As she is speaking, Ennis imagines that Jack was actually beaten to death by a gang of thugs, the same exact fate that Ennis feared. Lureen tells Ennis that Jack wanted to have his ashes scattered on Brokeback Mountain, but she does not know where it is.
Ennis travels to meet with Jack's mother and father (Roberta Maxwell and Peter McRobbie), and offers to take Jack's ashes to the mountain. The father refuses, preferring to have them interred in a family plot. Permitted by Jack's mother to see his childhood bedroom, Ennis finds the bloodstained shirt he thought he had lost on Brokeback Mountain. He discovers Jack kept it hanging with his own stained shirt from that summer's fight. Ennis holds both shirts up to his face, silently weeping. Jack's mother lets him keep the shirts.
Later, 19-year-old Alma Jr. (Kate Mara) arrives at Ennis' trailer to tell her father she is engaged. She asks for his blessing and invites him to the wedding. Ennis asks her if her fiancé really loves her and she replies "yes". After Alma leaves, Ennis goes to his closet, where his and Jack's shirts hang together, with a postcard of Brokeback Mountain tacked above. He stares at the ensemble for a moment, tears in his eyes, and murmurs, "Jack, I swear..."

Tags: boring, depressing, realism, murder, stupid, violence, queer, flashback, tragedy, romantic, sentimental

Review:
It has changed my perception, I must confess, about certain aspect of same sex love because I didn't think of same sex when I was watching it, I saw two human beings (amazing performances by both actors)I have the feeling "Brokeback Mountain" will make history, deservedly so..
Watching this movie brought back many of the emotions I thought were long buried.I feel like grabbing my coworkers and talking them to death about this film, but I know they don't want to hear about it.
I'm not going to talk about revelations or Oscar buzz, I'm just going to let you know that what he does in this film is so courageously beautiful, so truthful and so transcendental that his Ennis del Mar is bound to become a point of reference not just for us but for generations to come..
No matter who we are, we've all felt some of Jack's hurt and Ennis's pain some time in our lives - and if we haven't yet, we know that one day we probably will.In that great last scene, we are confronted with our most profound fear: that no matter how secure and good life feels right now, one day we may find ourselves totally alone and crippled by regret.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, 2005 wasn't the best year for movies, and I'm not just saying this, but I felt that Star Wars, King Kong, and now Brokeback Mountain so far are the only real decent movies to see.The great thing about Brokeback Mountain for those who are uncomfortable with it's themes, the love story between Jack and Ennis is not rubbed in your face in any way.
Only seeing Jack 4 or 5 times a year and then going back home to his wife and two girls and just acting like nothing ever happened.The performances in this movie are terrific, all the actors gave it their best shot at becoming who their characters were.
This is truly an exceptional achievement, a landmark film with an amazing story/script, outstanding and exceptional acting, masterful direction, unhurried and controlled pace, breathtaking cinematography, simple yet excellent and beautiful music, and most importantly, unprecedented emotional impact.
Avoiding facile and superficial stereotypes, the great author Annie Proulx and director Ang Lee have created truer-than-life characters and, thanks of course to the unforgettable and heartbreaking performances of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, "Ennis and Jack" now live forever, they are now undeniably part of the American literary and cinematic culture.
This film is not pushing a specific moral, instead, it makes us think, it makes us feel, it makes us reflect on the true meaning and value of our lives.If you haven't seen this film yet, get the DVD, enjoy this truly exceptional masterpiece, and "live the Brokeback Mountain experience"!.
I have watched it probably 15 times already, trying each time to pull it as close to me as I could, but, like Jack and Ennis, I simply don't ever get quite close enough to it, requiring me to watch it, and particular scenes in it, over and over like some strange obsession.This story of pure and natural love leaped off the screen, grabbed hold of my heart and has refused to let go.
I think I have finally decided that it must have been that the stars were aligned from Annie Proulx' raw and somewhat crass short story, to its publication in the New Yorker oh so many years ago, to Diana Ossana reading that New Yorker issue, to her and Larry McMurtry's screenplay and then placed into the caring hands of director, Ang Lee, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, and then, finally, the casting of these two fine young actors in the lead roles.
The next night I got up at 2am and saw it again, this time crying over tragedies of human existence (imagine a story being told from Ennis's wife's point of view, or daughter, etc.); and thats the whole thing: it's not a good guys vs.
Hailed as breathtaking and an instant classic, Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain based on the sort story by Annie Proulx, with outstanding performances from lead and supporting actors alike, a spectacular yet haunting screenplay, superb cinematography and a beautiful score, certainly does not disappoint.
Ennis Del Mar (played by Heath Ledger) the mysterious and reserved ranch hand from Riverton spends the summer working for Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid) shepherding on Brokeback Mountain with bubbly Texan rodeo cowboy Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal.) Their friendship and feelings toward each other develop over the summer with one drunken night resulting in sex and the wordless revelation of their love.
Go see it, however be warned, you will cry, you will have a pain in your heart and your mind will be possessed by Jack and Ennis' story, but you will also have witnessed what in my opinion is the most stunning film in cinema history.Brokeback Mountain: brilliant, beautiful but heartrendingly haunting..
Annie Proulx's short story, Brokeback Mountain.Charting the twenty-year love affair of two men, the film features brilliant direction, stunning cinematography, a beautiful authentic-feeling score, and a dignified and well-written screenplay (courtesy of novelist Larry McMurtry and writing partner Diana Ossana) that judiciously adapts Proulx's story.The film is also filled with superb performances from all its cast.
Co-star Jake Gyllenhaal also gives a fine performance, though unfortunately he will be overshadowed by Ledger: it's understandable, as the movie concentrates more on Ennis del Mar than Gyllenhaal Jack Twist, but Gyllenhaal is a talented young actor who gives a marvelous performance.Both main stars are well supported by Michelle Williams (as excellent as she was in another gay-themed film, HBO's If These Walls Could Talk 2) and Anne Hathaway (giving surprising depth that you would not expect from the star of such films as Ella Enchanted and The Princess Diaries).The film plays beautifully, never sensationalizing its so-called 'controversial' topic (really, in 2006?) and all the cast and crew display an obvious respect and passion for the subject.If there are any low points, they are few - such as the cast is very young (not only the main leads but Hathaway and Williams in particular look too young) which stretches credibility as the twenty years slowly pass.
However their fine performances just about make up for this and the filmmakers wisely didn't overdo the aging make-up (in fact they keep it to a bare minimum: young cast members playing much older characters can be hard to believe, but particularly so when they are obviously heavily made-up to look older!).There's very little else to fault in this wonderful movie, though perhaps the passion between the two main characters could have been slightly steamier  you do get the feeling the producers were treading carefully; then again, had they steamed things up, maybe it would have felt too vociferous and controversy courting.As things stand, this is a tender and heartbreaking masterpiece and one of the most beautiful films to come out of America in recent months.
Though the film thugs wonderfully at your heartstrings, it never comes close to being one of those awful 'weepies' like Love Story.Hopefully, the controversy surrounding this movie will stop.
This film deserves to be viewed, enjoyed and cherished on its own right, as a beautiful tale of a love affair repressed and hidden out of fear of society's reaction.Brokeback Mountain is an intelligent and thought-provoking film that deserves to win all the Oscars it's nominated for.
From their first raw encounter of physical intimacy, to the warmth and compassion that follows, we are taken on a journey of love and despair as these 2 men endeavour to keep alive an impossible relationship in the most difficult and unforgiving of times.Full of passion, daring, hope and despair, Heath & Jake give extremely brave and heartfelt performances in roles that not only would be a formidable challenge for any straight actor, but that will also shake and perhaps change forever the traditional stereo-type of the American cowboy.
After seeing this film my views are stronger and I honestly was moved for the second time this week (having watched Once Upon a Time in America a few days before although Brokeback Mountain is even better.) Heath Ledger, Jake Gylenhall, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathway and many others turn in outstanding performances here, with Ledger and Gylenhall carrying the film.
In the summer of 1963, young ranch hands Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) are signed on to work together on a Wyoming mountain range.
Nineteen-year-olds Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) have been assigned a flock of sheep to guard on Brokeback Mountain.
His father made sure he saw the body.The rest of the story I will not reveal because some events are better left to be experienced in the theater where their power can be fully absorbed and appreciated."Brokeback Mountain" would not work half as well as it does if it were not for the multitude of fine performances throughout.
When Ennis says, "If you can't fix it, you've got to stand it," our hearts break because we know there is nothing that should need to be fixed.In addition to being one of the most compellingly acted and written films of the year, "Brokeback Mountain" is the most stunningly photographed.
But after having seen this masterpiece for a second time yesterday evening there remains nothing else but that.The film contains wonderful landscape, two brilliant leading actors (and of course a bunch of great supporting actors), beautifully sad music and, most importantly, a very powerful and innovative story.
"If you can't fix it, Jack, you gotta stand it"So goes the adage that Brokeback Mountain's tragic central character, Ennis del Mar (Heath Ledger), lives by.
By the time the film closes, you cannot help but feel your heart has been ripped out of your chest: raw, same as Ennis.With Brokeback Mountain, all the aspects of film-making combine coherently to paint a visual expression of Annie Proulx's sparse prose under Ang Lee's delicate, consummate guidance.
I simply cannot comprehend how, as Ang Lee's obvious masterpiece and what has developed into the most acclaimed film in motion picture history, the Academy could fail to honour this touching, tragic, universally powerful story that carries with it  but never preaches  an important message about love it's own Best Picture statue.
Set in 1963, we see Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal) team up in their job to shepherd sheep to graze, and having strict orders to be separate most times to take care of their flock.But being together alone in the mountains, sharing their lives with each other, brings them too close, and soon, they share a forbidden illicit relationship (hey, they're supposed to be macho cowboys, and it's the 60s of free love and Vietnam looming) that transcends the usual boundaries of male bonding.It's like a summer love, and after an hour into the film, we explore how this love affect them as they try to ease themselves back to normalcy.
Before long, they get together again to reignite their passion for each other and continue over a period of 20 years.One thing's for sure, the story will still play out decently if you substitute gay love with heterosexual roles, like the countless of movies on cheating spouses, but there'll be a very distinct lack of punch.
Thanks a lot Ang Lee, Annie Proulx, Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana, Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger (I loved your small role in "Monster's Ball", but I had never thought you could do anything better than that), Michelle Williams (farewell to Dawson!), Anne Hathaway, Gustavo Santaolalla, Rodrigo Prieto, and all of the others involved.
The characters Ennis and Jack, superbly played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, the absolutely stunning directorial work done by Ang Lee, and the heart-wrenchingly beautiful musical score by Gustavo Santaolalla, have all been swimming in my head and heart nonstop these last few days and nights.
It was one of the most beautiful movies, one of the most beautiful human stories I have seen in awhile, at least out of modern cinema.Heath and Jake give the performances of there careers, by taking possibly the best role's of there lives.
Where do they make it after years and years of secrecy, what happens to them, will anything change, can there love exist like it should, without destroying these men.Perhaps this review isn't very clear, but the movie is incredible, cast aside what religious or personal prejudices you may have, and enjoy a great human story.
Every time I see the film I am simply awed by its sheer artistry, the magnificent cinematography (should have won the guild award as well as Oscar), the multi-faceted acting of the cast, especially Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, the moving and subtle musical score, and the near perfection of the screenplay, all woven together by the genius of Ang Lee. There is always something new that I discover, and the final scenes always move me emotionally.
It's been a while since I saw Brokeback Mountain, but it's emotive content still resonates to this day.To over-analyse this film would do it a disservice, as it is in it's simplicity that the story revels.Although focusing upon the forbidden love of two men (set in the ultra masculine world of cowboys and rodeos), it manages to convey the warmth, devotion and unrequited emotions of essentially a couple who happen to fall in love.Here's lies it's magic; the two leads (played with exceptional restraint by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall) quietly invite the viewer into their relationship, gradually making one feel they are watching an intimate piece of reality.The essence of the story could be transposed to any supposedly socially forbidden coupling (bi-racial, lesbianism, etc) but it's core message is one of sustaining a love that has to be hidden and never explored to it's full potential.Ang Lee (as always) provides a beautiful cinematic back drop to the evolving epic and clearly allowed the actors to freely explore the range of their characters.I could go on but I feel the best way for any potential viewers to embrace the magic of this film is to pick a quiet afternoon, rent the DVD and settle back to enjoy what is truly an exceptional piece of movie making..
Gyllenhaal's openness is beautiful, his determination to make the love work and to just exist the way he wants to, he definitely provides the emotional anchor for the film and gives a heartbreaking portrayal.It's Ledger, of course, who steals the show though, with a kind of transcendent performance that we're treated to maybe once a decade.
The amount of acting skill and diversity it took to do such a touching and completely honest job, makes this young man, Heath Ledger, a legend.The scenes in the Brokeback were beautiful and allowed me to imagine somehow I was transformed back in time watch these young men.The truth is neither one of the characters was entirely gay, rather bisexual, but they did find each other as their own natural soul mates.Unfortunately cultural prejudice and homophobia prevented them from doing what Jack Twist had dreamed, ranching together on his father's spread.The final scenes are absolutely acted with such depth of character, the viewer is taken to tears.
Starting out in 1963 in rural Wyoming a simple summer friendship is formed by two innocent cowboys by the name of Ennis Del Mar(Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist(Jake Gyllenhaal) only this summer encounter will turn into a lifelong connection of love and friendship.
I must say great movie and well done especially good acting from Ledger and Gyllenhaal who make both Ennis and Jack such likable characters that you feel emotions for and you feel their hurt.
Brokeback Mountain to me is one of the most moving love stories of all time.
They are movies I watch again and again.The main characters of Brokeback Mountain are young, poor Wyoming ranch hands named Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist.
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN has been constantly referred to as a 'gay cowboy' film, but that unfortunate label doesn't even begin to describe the film.In their star-making & Oscar-nominated performances, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal portray Ennis & Jack, two sheepherders hired to watch over a flock of sheep on the movie title's mountain.
Of course, with any great love story ultimately comes tragedy...To label BROKEBACK the 'gay cowboy' film is ludicrous, in my opinion.
Nevertheless, the story is not somehow considered a forbidden love.There are so many scenes in the movie that were so captivating and made me cry considering by magnificent and talented performances of the main characters showing animal desire and reluctant feelings of hesitantly knowing yourself and their what-is-the-right-thing-to-do justifications.
Also, the movie was lifted to even higher heights with the brilliant performances by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal who put pure emotion into each scene making you feel for each character.
Another important question for me that this movie brought to mind the second time that I watched it was the role that fear brought to Ennis and how it stopped him from fulfilling his own happiness with Jack.The performances were exquisite and Ang Lee is a genius for bringing us this remarkable and haunting love story.It is quite obvious that this film has resonated with a cord in the majority of the viewing public, and we all have our own views on what that is.
I wanted to be honest with not only myself, but with the people reading this review that Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain" was in fact the best movie of the year.
From Ang Lee's sharp, point-made directing to Rodrigo Prieto's mouth watering cinematography (most notably the Fourth of July scene) to the dream-like performances by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain" does what so many films fall short of doing: It captures the heart.
If even one person has come to realize this, or changed his/her mind about how "normal" it is for someone to love someone of the same sex, because of "Brokeback Mountain," then this film was very much worth making..