A Stoic, Taciturn Ranch Hand on the Bleak Northern Plains
Heath Ledger creates one of the most memorable characters in cinema history in Brokeback Mountain (2005), a melancholy drama about forbidden love. That character is Ennis del Mar, a lean, rugged Wyomingite with a 10th-grade education who works temporary, low-paying outdoor jobs. A phlegmatic man who doesn't talk much, Ennis avoids socializing and lives quietly in poverty. But there is one person who can stir Ennis's emotions: Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal). Ennis and Jack meet while herding sheep in 1963, and they quickly get into a love affair that spans nearly two decades.
Mountain Beauty
Although Ennis always lives in rundown dwellings situated on unattractive flatland, what sticks in my mind about the movie is the scenic beauty. That's because when Ennis and Jack are together, they're mostly up in the mountains, surrounded by lush greenery, big boulders and fast-moving streams. They do things like build cozy campfires and ride horses. There's a lyricism to these sequences that makes us understand why Ennis so cherishes the time he spends with Jack.
Director Ang Lee has done a superb job of contrasting Ennis's hardscrabble everyday life with the romanticism of the occasional interludes he spends with Jack. Lee's handling of tone and pacing is impeccable. Also, Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography is enchanting, and Gustavo Santaolalla's music is evocative.
One of the All-Time Best Screenplays
Annie Proulx's short story Brokeback Mountain first appeared in The New Yorker magazine in 1997, by which time gay love stories were commonplace; but what set hers apart was that it took place in a homophobic rural Western setting. However, at a length of only 28 pages (in the version of it I read), Proulx's story did not supply enough material for a screenplay, and screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana greatly fleshed out Ennis's and Jack's domestic lives. After I had seen the film on the big screen, I read the screenplay and was amazed to find it impacted me emotionally even more strongly than the movie.
Ennis and Alma and Jack and Lureen
Shortly after Ennis and Jack get to know each other, they both take wives. Ennis marries a sweet girl named Alma (played by Michelle Williams in a performance that tugged at my heartstrings), and they have two daughters. For most of the movie, Ennis and Alma live in a cramped apartment over a laundromat in Riverton, Wyoming.
After a stint riding Brahma bulls in rodeos, Jack weds a woman named Lureen (well played by Anne Hathaway), and in time they have a son. They make their home in Childress, Texas, where Jack lives the easy life, taking an undemanding position in the farm machinery business owned by Lureen's well-to-do father.
A Stable Relationship for Years, but Change Brings Discontent
The arrangement Ennis and Jack slip into is that they occasionally get together for a few days at a time, and Jack always makes the 14-hour drive from Texas to see Ennis in Wyoming. Although neither man is really happy with this arrangement, for many years they both accept it. But after Ennis's circumstances change, Jack becomes increasingly dissatisfied with their relationship and eventually takes some actions that lead to the film's denouement.
Eight Oscar Nominations, and Three Wins
I was so impressed with Brokeback Mountain that it came as no surprise when, at the Academy Awards ceremony, Ang Lee won Best Director, Gustavo Santaolalla got Best Original Music, and Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana won Best Adapted Screenplay.
Three actors—Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams—received Oscar nominations for their performances in Brokeback Mountain, but the competition was stiff, and none of them won. Also, Rodrigo Prieto was nominated for cinematography, but didn't win. And finally, the film was one of the five nominees for Best Picture, but the Academy Award in that category went to Crash.
Continued on the Next Page: About the Featurettes, Making-Of, and DVD Details
