Beautifully directed, heartbreakingly poetic and brilliantly acted; Brokeback Mountain is the type of film Oscar was made for. This story spans 20 years and takes place in rural Wyoming and Texas. It begins in the summer of 1963 where Ennis Del Mar(Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) find themselves working side by side on the hills of Wyoming’s Brokeback Mountain tending sheep. Ennis is a very complex character and it takes awhile for him to warm up to even one conversation with Jack but when they finally begin to talk the connection is obvious. A cold night prompts Ennis and Jack to sleep in the same tent together which leads to very awkward and then almost desperate sexual intimacy because of the unspoken connection between each other, their want for it to be experienced is incredibly intense. Most of the film puts focus on Ennis’ inner struggle to have a normal life despite his feelings for Jack. After the summer is over the two men go their separate ways, Ennis goes back to Texas and gets married and starts a family. Years pass but Ennis is forever haunted by the love he has for Jack and all his suppressed feelings come crashing down on him when Jack comes to visit him. This film is skillfully adapted for the screen by Larry McMurty, based on the short story of the same name by Annie Proulx. Ang Lee has extraordinary vision and a way of capturing the human spirit that is absolutely breathtaking. These qualities mixed with Oscar worthy performances by Ledger, Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams leave the audience with a romantically luminous and thought provoking story that is worthy of much praise and admiration. Although this film is not available in MoPix I do recommend it for the visually impaired because I feel everyone should see this movie, there will be some parts that are definitely hard to follow due to the actors amazing ability to display their emotions in their body language and facial expression, if you do have a visually capable person you can take with you to fill in the spaces that would be ideal. Brokeback Mountain should not be missed.
(Focus Features)
Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway
