Brokeback Mountain | Review

Ang Lee’s moving tale prods merges the classical story with the cowboy way.

In 1969, director John Schlesinger offered the story about two men braving the elements with one man donning a symbol from the old West. Midnight Cowboy would go onto win Best Picture. Circa 2005, Ang Lee takes a pair of Hollywood studs sets them up as wranglers surviving the elements to tell a story that reshapes our view of American masculinity. Not since the sun went down on the Spaghetti Western genre has the cowboy movie undergone such a change in hat colors; Brokeback Mountain is deserving of some of the accolades that its got coming to it.

For most lovers it’s the summer of 69’, for this uncommon pairing – it’s the late fall of 63’. Based on Anne E. Proulx’s short story published only a couple of years back and scripted by Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana, the Golden Lion Venice winner sees cowboy country intertwined with romance, except here the iconic image John Wayne and the Marlboro man is expropriated to more than just a one-dimensional mindset. The core of the narrative is recycled Hollywood material – generations of movies have illustrated the two people in love against all odds, except here, the couple involved can share the same wardrobe. The first third of the film follows the trek in the high mountains – clearly the filmmaker’s intention is to use the rugged and lush wilderness as a spot worth the making of a postcard print. Family, grey hair and ‘staches describe the spanning of the years, but the principle players’ performance enhances the heart-wrenching affects that this forbidden love has on everyone involved.

The attention to detail in terms of the time, space and location draws the viewer in and adds a lot of weight to the story – it helps contextualize the experience that the character draw upon when the fishing trips become numbered and the episodic nature of the film sets in. Frustration and guilt are summoned throughout the picture but the necessity of extra hurdles such as the trip down to Mexico for Gyllenhaal’s character, the father-daughter unification and a new relationship after a divorce for Ledger’s character are questionable additions to the screenplay as it only serves to describe what the narrative has already explained. Thankfully, the film’s pacing contributes to the bittersweet characteristic, and once the film loosens the strong and silent type grip for a clash between lovers it sort of brings on the sentiment that one has when they feel as if they didn’t have enough time to tell the person they love how much they have appreciated their presence.

Up until this moment, the perception of actors Ledger and Gyllenhaal might have been categorized as pure accessories – but here the performances are solid, even the secondary wife characters played by Williams and Hathaway are able to gesticulate the deep burdens within. For some, the elongated account and the lack of emotions might make this a cowboy myth not worth exploring, but Lee’s direction, and the stronghold impression of Jack and Ennis’ story will make this a holiday film worth saddling up for if a giant-sized Gorillas or hostage revenge films aren’t your thing.

Rating 3.5 stars