Review #1,114 - Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Review #1,114 |
THE SCOOP
Director: Lee Ang
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway
Plot: The story of a forbidden and secretive relationship between two cowboys and their lives over the years.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Awards: Won Golden Lion (Venice). Won 3 Oscars - Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score. Nom. for 5 Oscars - Best Picture, Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography.
Runtime: 134min
Rating: R21 for sexuality, nudity, language and some violence.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
“I wish I
knew how to quit you.”
Lee Ang is one of the world's foremost
masters of versatility. He never makes
the same kind of movie twice. In 2005,
he made his most important one. It also
won him his first Best Director Oscar, making him the first Asian to clinch
that coveted award.
Brokeback
Mountain
is one of the significant films of the 2000s decade, paving way for a new wave
of queer cinema filmmakers to emerge with confident voices. It is easy to reduce Brokeback Mountain to a gay cowboy movie. While that label doesn't do justice to the
film's complex qualities, it is important for us to first acknowledge that
flawed reduction and then build a critical understanding of the film through
context and empathy.
The film stars the late Heath Ledger
in an outstanding performance as the laidback but conflicted Ennis Del Mar, who
meets his enthusiastic work partner Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) when they get
some work as sheep tenders. They stay
together in the wilderness for days and nights, and a friendship and romance
develop.
Lee takes this simple tale of two
cowboys and allows their relationship to blossom. They become lovers and great friends. The performances are naturalistic, and often
their forbidden romance is threatened to be dwarfed by nature.
Beautifully shot by Rodrigo Prieto and
scored by Gustavo Santaolalla (famous for their work with Mexican director
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu), Brokeback
Mountain is a rich, delicate and layered film with a sweeping, epic feel. It spans more than two decades, yet Ennis and
Jack's affecting story lies outside of time.
It is almost ten years since the
film's release, yet their love story remains captivating, and more importantly,
universal. It is a story of love,
nothing less, nothing more. Perhaps that
is why the film's appeal transcends cultures and beliefs, proving to be a
box-office hit worldwide.
This is considering that it is an unorthodox
Western concerning homosexual themes, so it is quite astonishing that the film
received mainstream adulation. The fact
that there has not been a similarly-themed film of this scale and accessibility after
nearly a decade is equally astonishing and shocking.
Brokeback
Mountain
also sees supporting roles for the effervescent Michelle Williams and a young
Anne Hathaway. But it is the strong
chemistry between Ledger and Gyllenhaal that gives the film a solid emotional
base to which the story plays out.
Days after the haunting closing scene,
Brokeback Mountain has stayed
transfixed in my heart. I hope it stays
in yours too. It is a towering
achievement that is required viewing for any film enthusiast. It provides comfort, and we need that comfort
in a time when politics continue to define what love is. Why insist on defining love, when
feeling it is all that matters?
Verdict: Such a sweeping yet delicate film by Lee Ang
centering on the relationship between two cowboys that it stays transfixed in
your heart.
GRADE: A
Tweet
Follow @Filmnomenon
Click here to go back to Central Station.
TRAILER:
OST:
Comments