Movie Review and Reaction:
Brokeback Mountain
What to say. It is an incredible movie with truly remarkable acting and a tragic storyline. It is a classic tragedy. As is always the case, classic tragedies are caused by fatal flaws in the characters. Ennis and Jack are classic flawed characters. So is everyone else in the movie. They search for ways to fill the flaws but are unable to break through whatever the flaws may cause.

Social scientists and activists will probably point to the societal flaw which prevents them from being able to succeed. While that may be part of Ang Lee's point, it overlooks the common human, personal flaws - flaws that would probably have kept them from succeeding regardless of their sexual orientation.

In that sense the movie was not about a couple of "gay cowboys." It was the same story as any movie about marital infidelity. It showed the same pains, the same flaws, the same longings, the same desires as any two people caught in a web they don't understand or overwhelmed by feelings that make no sense.

Jack and Ennis become emotionally addicted to each other. They are therefore unable to make real connections with others. The scene where the two meet for the first time 4 years after their initial summer on Brokeback Mountain is as much a scene of addiction as any in Ray or Walk the Line. The emotional system that pulls Ennis is hooked by the rush he felt the first time in the tent. The time in-between there are chemicals added, mostly alcohol which substitutes for the primary addiction.

Therefore, for the next 15 years they both live in a dream world of would have/could have/should have. In the end it doesn't matter if they are gay or straight or don't know. Addiction is non-gender, non-sexual orientation specific. Just look at last year's Sideways and you will see the same story.

What about the great sinfulness of the movie showing two men in love? Is it truly any different than Sideways? I don't think so. It may be "groundbreaking" in applying the storyline of loving/losing/wanting/struggling/betraying to a same gender relationship. But it is not a new story. Therefore, probably not any more so than heterosexual stories with the same theme.

As a movie, it is an epic romantic tragedy. It is a statement about societal issues. It is one of the top movies of this year, no doubt about it. (Note: This is being written before the Academy Awards nominations announced this morning. I fully expect it to walk away with a lot of nominations.) It is not a movie of action. It makes one of my favorite movies of all time, A River Runs Through It, also a great western movie, look like an action thriller. It certainly has raised a lot of issues. It is heartbreaking and powerful and cannot soon be forgotten. Potentially a genre-changing movie.

But for me, the top movie of the year remains either Crash or Walk the Line. We'll see.

Update: Academy Award nominations came out. Much to my surprise Crash had 5 nominations, Walk the Line wasn't nominated for Best Picture. I don't think Crash can overcome Brokeback Mountain's momentum. I would also agree, by the way, that Good Night, and Good Luck is among the Top 5. A great look back in a way that we should be aware.