“I wish I knew how to quit you!”
– Jack Twist
SYNOPSIS: A raw, powerful story of two young men, a Wyoming ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy, who meet in the summer of 1963 sheepherding in the harsh, high grasslands of contemporary Wyoming and form an unorthodox yet life-long bond – by turns ecstatic, bitter and conflicted. – via IMDB
I have never, ever gotten around to seeing this movie, and I have no idea why not. It isn’t even because the subject matter makes me uncomfortable, it doesn’t faze me. I am always shocked to know that there are still so many people out there that get offended about people choosing who they wish to love and spend time with. It is an immensely private thing and has nothing to do with anybody, but that is just my opinion. Anyway, I know that this movie sparked controversy when it was released, and there is still a little taboo around the whole subject and jokes to boot. I just want to state that it is testament to the acting chops of both Ledger and Gyllenhaal that the roles that they took did not cripple their careers. Moving on to the movie itself, I thought it was shot really well and it was engaging and it was sad. Like “oh my gosh, that’s horrendous”. And not because the movie is so much pushing for and demanding you be sad, because let’s face it, Ennis Del Mar could be a real dweeb and you could not quite agree with what he was doing to his wife, no matter what the times, and I felt sorry for Alma Del Mar for knowing that he husband was not straight, but pretending anyway, but sad because it just gets under your skin, it has such a subtlety about it at the best of times. Damn, the era was different, but not so much so that we don’t still hear about stuff like that nowadays. Sexuality is still something that people hide and guard because of society’s views, and this movie shows the effect that being incapable of being yourself has on one, as well as the inability to accept who and what you are because of the standards set by society. Gyllenhaal and Ledger both delivered top notch performances, and got into their roles and made them convincing, not some roles that some popular Hollywood actors had taken on for money or controversy. They really embodied their characters, and Ledger excelled at being the angry, confused, silent one, whereas Gyllenhaal truly perfected Jack Twist, the dreamer, the chance taker. It was a bittersweet thing to watch Ledger in something again, what a loss 😦 This really was an absolutely amazing performance from him. Brokeback Mountain was shot well, had a score to match the setting (though totally not my kind of thing) and riddled with solid performances all round, from the wives to the extended families, it all comes together well. However, the driving force behind the movie will still remain the relationship between Jack and Ennis and the performances that Ledger and Gyllenhaal gave us to realise these men. Brokeback Mountain is a dramatic romance, and it is a beautiful flick all round. I think this was a great Blind Spot and I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, not just for the romance involved, but because it is a solid movie in quite a few ways.
The Sporadic Chronicles 