Ang Lee's Mountain Worth The Climb

Brokeback Mountain

Cast: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway

Director: Ang Lee

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Beneath the hype, despite the controversy, Brokeback Mountain boils down to one thing.

It's a love story, plain and simple. Certainly, it's not the typical love story seen on the silver screen, but a love story all the same.

Brokeback Mountain tells the story over a 20+ year period of two men, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal). They first meet when hired to work as ranch hands by Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid) to herd and guard over sheep on Brokeback Mountain. Through time, the two discover an attraction and finally, a deep-seated love for each other that lasts beyond time, cultural norms of the 1960-70's, and geographic distance.

Ennis and Jake both marry women, in very different situations. Ennis appears to anyone looking in from the outside to have a good relationship with his wife, Alma, and two daughters. A doting father and loving husband, he provides for his family while harboring his secret love for Jack. Jack, torn between his attraction to men and the time's non-acceptance of male-male relationships, marries a woman (Lureen) who seems cold and distant.

Over time, the two men resume contact, and have an ongoing relationship. They meet regularly on Brokeback, telling their wives and family that they are meeting an old pal to go fishing with. As with most affairs, eventually the truth is found out. While Ennis and Alma divorce, Ennis is hesitant to have an open relationship with Jack, recalling the brutal murder of a gay man that occurred in his childhood.

The story culminates twenty years after Ennis and Jack meet, and while Ennis finally comes to terms with his love for Jack, he never feels free from society's constraints to have a stable relationship with him.

Brokeback Mountain is a beautifully filmed story, the scenery in the mountains is breathtaking. Ledger and Gyllenhaal in particular, provide outstanding performances as the tortured Ennis and Jack. Supporting roles by Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway are less filled out, but are well-acted. Winner of three Academy Awards, director Ang Lee received an Oscar for Best Director 2005.

Bottom line, if you like love stories and are not put off by the male homosexual theme, you will probably enjoy this story of tortured and ultimately tragic love. Rated R for brief nudity (male rear, female frontal ), language, and sexual themes, this is a film for open-minded adults.

Brokeback Mountain In The News

--L. Kvigne

 

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