LOVE cannot be dictated to by society. Review on Brokeback Mountain Movie

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005)

DIRECTOR- Ang Lee

CAST- Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhall, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway.

PLOT-

Time- 1963. Two lonely young cowboys Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhall), looking for work in Wyoming, find themselves working as herders on Brokeback Mountain. Their job isn’t easy. They have to herd and graze a thousand sheep, stay out with them at all times- through hot summers and cold winters, with no humans for company for months on end, except each other.

Ennis and Jack both come from broken, dysfunctional families, but are otherwise completely diverse in personality. Jack is open, outgoing, and fun loving and Ennis is taciturn and quiet to the point of giving the term, “Man of few words” a whole new meaning. On that lonely mountain, they soon strike up a friendship, and that friendship turns to something deeper, and they fall into a sexual relationship. While Ennis, being the more reserved of the two, insists after the first time that it is “just a one time thing”, Jack, being the wiser of the two, knows it sure ain’t!

After nearly a year of being together on Brokeback Mountain, their work comes to an end and they go their separate ways, shaking hands and wishing each other “good luck” in the accepted, “manly” way. Neither of them acknowledges how much they mean to each other, although it is clear as daylight to the viewer that this isn’t the end. Ennis remains in Wyoming, gets married to Alma (Michelle Williams) and has two daughters by her. Jack moves to Texas and gets married to a small time heiress Loreen (Anne Hathaway) and has a son by her.

Ennis appears to be absorbed in his new life, and appears to have left his past on Brokeback Mountain behind, when one day he receives a post card from Jack asking if he wants to meet up. Ennis says yes, and Jack drives up to Wyoming. The two friends and lovers reunite joyfully. They tell their respective wives they are going fishing in Brokeback Mountain, and keep meeting up at regular intervals over 15 years.

Over time, Ennis’ wife divorces him (she knows, even though she never tells him), but he still wants to maintain the façade of being the all male cowboy, while sharing secret, stolen moments with Jack. Jack, on the other hand, wants to end this dual existence, to buy a ranch somewhere and run it with Ennis, so they can stay together. Ennis knows that being who they are, living where they are, in the times they are…that can never be. As with all great love stories, this one too ends rather tragically.

MY THOUGHTS-

My first thought after watching this film was…”How strange…this year’s greatest love story on screen is between two men”…and it truly is….a wonderful, sensitive, intense love story. To be honest, I suppose I felt awkward when I watched the two men on screen together initially. However, it wasn’t long before I saw Jack and Ennis as two human beings who cared deeply for each other, and not as two men in an “unnatural” relationship. The credit for this has to go to the director Ang Lee, for showcasing their relationship so delicately and in such a human manner, as also to the actors.

In terms of performances, while Jake Gyllenhall is a brilliant actor, and is ideal for the role of Jack, it is Heath Ledger that steals the acting honours in the movie. The character of Ennis is so darned interesting and complex…so many repressed emotions hidden behind the often mask like face, and taciturn manner…Heath Ledger plays the part to perfection, and even more importantly, speaks to your heart.

Michelle Williams (most famous for her role in the annoying tv series “Dawsons Creek”) is surprisingly good. She has a tough role to play, of a woman whose husband is in love with a man. Despite knowing that, she has to keep quiet about it because it just ain’t something anybody talks about, not 30 years ago, not in a place like Wyoming at any rate. Anne Hathaway has a briefer role as Jack’s wife. But she is no less effective.

I don’t usually talk about cinematography or the visuals of the movie, but in this movie, the breath-taking landscape of Wyoming or the place called “Brokeback Mountain” is such an important part of the screenplay, and forms a refuge for Jake and Ennis time and again. Tall, verdant mountains, painted green and gold in the sunlight, sparkling streams shot through with diamonds, clear azure skies in the day and moonlit skies in the night…it really looks like a magical world, a place where everything is as God created it, un-touched by human pettiness and prejudice.

You could dismiss this movie as a flick about two gay cowboys of no consequence. If you do, you will be doing this movie and yourself a huge disservice. “Brokeback Mountain” is a haunting love story of two good human beings…and love can never be inconsequential or wrong.