Brokeback Mountain Review
By Adina Konits
Electric Horsemen
It's difficult to imagine how the concluding image of a short story by E. Annie Proulx, published in the "New Yorker", seduced director Ang Lee into making a film about twenty years in the life of two homosexual cowboys. Yet, consistent with the motivation behind some of his previous efforts - namely "The Ice Storm" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" - there was a brief moment while reading the original story that ensnared Lee's visual imagination. For "The Ice Storm" it was a moment where electricity came into contact with ice and for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" it was the final moment of movement into the clouds. In "Brokeback Mountain" the moment consisted of a lost shirt found hanging in a sparse closet. In other words, the contents of the story itself did not provide reason enough to make it; Lee wasn't making a film about two gay men, he was attempting to understand the mysterious and uncontrollable nature of love.
The film follows two sheepherders in 1963 who give in to their intense attraction to one another despite the oppression of their community and, more problematically, their marriages. The awkwardness between the two men surrendering to their feelings is palpable in the film, and Lee makes little attempt to direct the flow of emotion instigated by the relationship. As a result, there is ultimately a potent discomfort one is forced to not only accept but to endure as their marriages and lives deteriorate due to their unalterable connection. Lee's unwavering dedication to his story gives the film an emotional quality that weighs down the pacing of each scene; the more moving the scenes get, the slower the action seems to go. However, the acting and Lee's trademark visual poetry save the film.
"Brokeback" would have come across as heavy-handed if not for the amazing performances by Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist; it is surprising how well the two men tackle their unusual and challenging roles. Heath Ledger finally comes into his own as an actor, proving himself to be the backbone of the film and convincingly embodying its western influences. The film is inherently an American love story and not intended to be a western, and while Ledger's accent sounds a little contrived (not to mention Gyllenhaal's) every posture his body takes, from the slump in his shoulders to how he puts one foot in front of the other when he walks, looks authentic. While Gyllenhaal's performance is equally riveting, it's difficult to divorce him from his city boy looks. As for their wives, Michelle Williams gives a skillful turn as Alma Beers Del Mar and Ann Hathaway, as Jack's wife, makes good use of a role which seems largely irrelevant until the last scene. The fact that the cast consists of younger actors contributes to the overall loss of innocence that is the residue of such a story.
While "Brokeback" is a gorgeous love story, the unusual and controversial homosexual content immediately disenfranchises the movie from mass appeal. Stories about homosexual relationships, much less homosexual cowboys, are a difficult sell in the current conservative political climate. Ang Lee himself doesn't expect many people to come and see it. But that isn't why he made the movie. He already achieved mainstream success with "Crouching Tiger" and he jokes, "… after making 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', I wanted to make a movie that no one will see." While his wish may be granted, it would be shame for "Brokeback" not to get the attention it sincerely deserves.
