Although that reunion kiss scene is the most gut wrenching, heart warming and passionate thing I have seen for years and it warms me to my core every time I see it, there is another scene of the movie which I rank way way up there.
When they both come down off BBM and are heading their separate ways, and Jack's eyes are pleading with Ennis to say yes, when he asks him if he'll be back next year.........I love Jake Gyllenhaal most for the emotions he portrays in that look. Once you know Jack's back story with his parents and all, you can see in this wordless pleading that in that summer Jack has experienced love for the very first time in his life (not just sex) and that he just doesn't want it to come to an end.
Maybe it's just the way I read it, the looks are silent, but I can hear Jack screaming in my head for Ennis to stay with him. I love this whole scene, it reminds me of times when I should have just said things out loud in similar situation and I recognise all of Jack's pain, his desperation, his hopes and his love. Wonderful scene and a definite favourite of mine (though there is not a scene I don't like).
I agree, Tom -- beautifully heart-wrenching scene, and particularly that look of Jack's as you describe. Such a momentous turning point, one way or another, yet it turned out as it did.
But Ennis also in that scene -- he wasn't eager to part, either. Very painful for him, you can see, and maybe even more so than Jack, as he was so unused to even saying much, let alone expressing his feelings. He didn't see a way, in his limited life view, to ever see Jack again. And obviously, it was literally gut-wrenching for him.
I recall so well the first time I saw it in the theater, watching them in the beginning of that parting scene and wondering so strongly what was going to happen right in those moments...
Guess I'll see you around, then was so painful for me.
But this is thread on Favorite Scenes, so let's see, how can I make this a favorite? They are both so hot and beautiful! And I love how Ennis can fix the truck.
kathy