“Bottom line is… we’re around each other an’… this thing, it grabs hold of us again… at the wrong place… at the wrong time… and we’re dead”. More than a often used punchline, the story of 2005’s Brokeback Mountain is one of love, life, and the struggle to find happiness. Director Ang Lee delivers his finest film with stunning performances by Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Williams.
The film begins with Ennis and Jack working together sheep herding in the titular mountain range in Wyoming. The two soon learn of how well they get along while working together, which leads them falling in love while isolated in the mountains. After the job is finished, the two men go about their lives, with Ennis getting married and having two kids. He seems happy if unfulfilled yet when he receives a postcard from Jack, the two of them fall into an affair that last the rest of their lives. Complications along the way include the great distance in which they live from each other, their wives and families and the continued pursuit from other women and men. Without spoiling the ending the film handles a tragic event in such a beautiful way, I can not help but admire Ang Lee for his achievement with this picture.
Obviously the first thing that’s mentioned is the fact that it’s a love story between two seemingly heterosexual men. It’s interesting because through most of the movie it’s hinted at that neither of the men are homosexual, yet they are in love with each other. Later on, this point is undone leading to the climax of the film. Going into the film I knew about the storyline for the most part and knew the visuals and soundtrack were well thought of and the performances were solid. I think what I was most impressed with was the script in this film. Maybe it was because I expected the stunning visuals and had already heard the legendary score, but the script, specifically the way this movie handled this love affair, was very impressive.
Never particularly being an Ang Lee fan, I was glad to see that his nomination for Best Director with this film was justified. I think the most memorable image has to be of Heath Ledger standing, with fireworks in the background. That’s an iconic image in movie history if I’ve ever seen one. Speaking of Ledger, he’s fantastic as the soft spoken Ennis. He’s a man of few words, and simple pleasures, and Ledger understands that in his performance. Michelle Williams plays the wife of Ennis and she is heart-breakingly good in the film. She discovers the love affair early on and from there, she’s a broken woman, and my God does she ever pull that off. While those two actors rightfully get the majority of the attention, I feel like Gyllenhaal has the most demanding performance in the film. He doesn’t have the soft mumble that Ledger does. He doesn’t get the role of the man torn between two lives. He’s the man who knows what he wants and can’t have it and Gyllenhaal is perfect in his casting. Never good enough for his father-in-law, Gyllenhaal’s character only thrives as a person in the presence of Ennis and he knows this, and to a point, so does Ennis. It’s the performance, the script and the direction that makes this dynamic so tough to watch, yet so easy to understand. This is a fantastic film with the only real draw back for me being that I wished Michelle Williams would have been in the story more as she was so damn good the film felt like it was missing something when she’s not in it.