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tpe:
I will create this thread in this subforum for now.

tpe:
The DVD Review form http://dvd.monstersandcritics.com/reviews/article_1151857.php/DVD_Review_Brokeback_Mountain

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DVD Review: Brokeback Mountain
By Patrick Luce Apr 2, 2006, 14:51 GMT



Even with a subject matter that might be controversial to some, Brokeback Mountain is a movie that is worth watching thanks to strong performances from its cast, a solid screenplay by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, and the master directing by Oscar winning Ang Lee.


By now, everyone knows what the movie (which was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three) is about, and it is not a film that everyone will like or even want to see. At the same time, Lee handles some of the more controversial scenes delicately and never lets one part of the story over take the entire experience of the movie.

The movie has a good cast of young actors that show they have the talent to hang around for a while so get used to them. The cast includes Heath Ledger (A Knight’s Tale), Jake Gyllenhaal (Jarhead), Anne Hathaway (Havoc), and Michelle Williams (The Station Agent).

The movie (which is not a cowboy film or western so please stop calling it that) starts in the mid 1960s and runs until the late 1970s. Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal) take a job with Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid) herding and caring for his sheep on Brokeback Mountain in Wyoming for the summer. Aguirre tells the two that he wants them staying on the mountain all summer with one staying in the actual campsite allowed by the Forest Service and the other sleeping with the sheep a few miles away – which is not allowed.

At first, it seems like the two men don’t get along, Del Mar rarely talks and Twist rarely shuts up, but a friendship begins to form. Twist is the one that is supposed to stay with the sheep, but the two switch when he can no long take sleeping up there without a fire and the other hardships. They also start to discover that they have similar backgrounds – both grew up on a ranch and have been involved in the ranching business their entire lives.


Jack and Ennis meet working on Brokeback Mountain

Twist is a rodeo cowboy with a father that is impossible to please and rarely has time for him. Del Mar’s parents died when he was young and he was raised by his brother and sister until there was no longer a place for him. The two have been drifting most their young adult lives going from job to job. We also learn that Del Mar intends to marry at the end of the summer.

Although there is really no reason for the sudden emotion, the two have sex one night after drinking too much, and Del Mar makes it clear that this is something that is a one time thing and only going to happen this summer while they are alone on Brokeback. Lee does show the sex scene, but again this is not a reason to not watch the film. Lee handles these scenes (as he does the sex scenes the two actors have with their wives later in the film) with care, and never lets them become a distraction to the overall story he is telling. Quaid eventually discovers what they are doing on the mountain and calls them down early – although he never comes out and says that is the reason why.

From there, the two go their separate ways and the larger story begins. Del Mar gets married to Alma (Williams) and the two quickly have two daughters. Twist drifts back into the life of a rodeo cowboy (although he has little success) and ends up married to Lureen Newsome (Hathaway). The two have a baby son, and Twist settles into a new career as a salesman. He also has to deal with an overbearing father-in-law.

The movie then jumps ahead four years, and the two meet up again for the first time. When this happens, the same emotions that grabbed them on Brokeback return and this time they can’t claim that it was a “one time” thing. Alma also discovers the truth about her husband, but never says anything until close to the end of the movie. The two men decide that they want to be together and love each other, but can not because of the times and their families. There is a haunting and disturbing scene where Ledger describes his childhood encounter with the body of a rancher thought to be gay that had been beaten and mutilated. His father took Ledger, then age nine, and his brother to see the corpse in a ditch so that they would understand what happened to those kind of people. It is clear that this is the driving reason why Ledger’s character is incapable to accept his love for Gyllenhaal’s character.

Instead, the two men keep their love secret from everyone and spend the next several years only seeing each other every couple of months on special “fishing” trips. Eventually, Ledger and Williams get divorced, and the love in Gyllenhaal’s marriage falls apart although they stay together. There is a great scene where Gyllenhaal finally confronts his overbearing father-in-law that actually seems to drive the nail in the coffin of his marriage.

We also see that Gyllenhaal seems to have the harder time staying away from Ledger and accepting the conditions of their relationship. Ledger handles the relationship’s emotional toil with outburst of anger (which explode at odd times and sometimes very violently) and with a somewhat failure to hold down any kind of job. I don’t want to give away the movie’s emotional ending so I will stop there.


Ledger can’t fit into his life and often turns to violence

Ledger and Gyllenhaal, who were both nominated for Oscars in their roles, are extremely good in the movie, and do a good job at making their characters drastically different. Ledger is quiet and reserved. He seems to always be wrestling with this other side that he feels he can not let go, and even the way he delivers his dialogue seems to be part of that struggle. Gyllenhaal, on the other hand, is loud and seems to be the one that instigates most of the encounters at first. He is not ashamed of what the two men have, and is constantly pushing for them to move past the occasional encounter. This leads to even more conflict in their relationship, and eventually to the tragedy that Ledger believes happens to Gyllenhaal’s character – although it is never said if that is what really happened.

Although Ledger and Gyllenhaal are the focus of the movie, Lee does an excellent job in weaving a story that also explores the wives’ side. Williams discovers the truth early on in the movie in a scene that will both make you laugh for a second and then break your heart when you think of the emotion she must be going through. This knowledge destroys her relationship with Ledger and eventually leads to their divorce – although she doesn’t use that as the reason and never exposes his secret to his two daughters.

When Williams finally does confront Ledger with the truth, the scene turns extremely violent quickly, and we see that this is still something Ledger is unwilling to admit to himself even after all these years. It is a short scene, but probably one of the best in the movie.

Hathaway’s character, like Jack Twist, is the complete opposite of Williams – the two wives never meet either. She is content to run her business, have success and money. It is clear early on that her marriage to Jack is second or even third priority in her life, and that there is little love between the two characters. Although they don’t say this is the reason why, they more than likely got married because she was pregnant. She is also a bit of a throw away character because unlike Williams she doesn’t know the two men’s secret and doesn’t even appear to truly care or question why Twist is willing to drive so far to fish. She asks why Ledger never comes to Texas, and then pretty much drops the whole thing.


It turns violent when Alma confronts her husband about his secret

Although the movie is extremely good, it isn’t something that I would probably watch a second time. It is not because of the homosexual overtones of the movie (though I am sure some people will avoid it based on that reason), but because it is simply too long. At times, it seems like the movie is never going to end, and that Lee is just going over the same ground we have seen. The director spends a lot of time with Ledger and his two daughters later in the film, but the scenes never really fit in with the basic plot of the movie. They add more details to Ledger’s life and his inability to connect with the people in it, but this is ground that has already been established.

The movie’s pace slows from time to time, and I am just not sure that it would have gotten the accolades it received without the more controversial moments in the film. I will say I am an Ang Lee fan, and think the director knows how to tell any story in a way that somehow relates and interests the viewer. I have yet to see a film of his that I didn’t like in some way, and I think this is the kind of movie that you are going to either love, hate or have no real reaction to at all. I fall in the last part of that group. I didn’t hate the film, but it didn’t interest me enough to want to see it more than once - the way some of Lee’s films have.

The DVD comes loaded with special features that fans of the movie will enjoy, but may fall a little short on the average viewer. They are basically just a detailed look at what went into making the movie, and how the cast all came together. The features include Directing from the Heart: Ang Lee – an inside look at the director and his process. From Script to Screen: Interviews with Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana – where the writers discuss bringing the short story that was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx to the screen. On Being a Cowboy – a look at what Gyllenhaal and Ledger went through to prepare for their roles in the film including rodeo and wrangling training and interviews with the men who trained them. Lee likes to use the actual actors in all his shots so very few stunt doubles were used in the film. Sharing the Story: The Making of Brokeback Mountain – the standard “making of” feature that has takes you through the process of making the film and features interviews with crew, cast, and Lee along with behind the scenes footage. The DVD is presented in Anamorphic 1.85:1 Widescreen and English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound.


Ang Lee crafts a movie that explores the emotions of the heart

While the movie’s subject matter may not appeal to everyone, it is worth taking a chance on thanks to Lee’s steady hand as a director, a brilliant script, and some really fine performances from its actors. The pace does drag from time to time, and I felt it loses some of its focus towards the end. I would still recommend the movie to anyone wanting a heavy drama that explores the relationships of the heart.

Brokeback Mountain is now available at Amazon. It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for an April 24th release. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.


tpe:
I forgot to note that the reviewer is honest in that he has seen it only once and thinks it is too long.

We've seen this before.  Little do they know that it starts to get under your skin after 3 or 4 viewings.  :)

LuvJackNasty:
Although the movie is extremely good, it isn’t something that I would probably watch a second time. It is not because of the homosexual overtones of the movie (though I am sure some people will avoid it based on that reason), but because it is simply too long. At times, it seems like the movie is never going to end,

Too long? Maybe I am just crazy but I wish it was longer. I would have enjoyed watching all of their meetings- I just love these two characters. I didn't want the movie to end because I enjoy it so much and because we all know what the end brings.  :'(

Thanks for posting the review.

tpe:

--- Quote from: LuvJackNasty on Apr 02, 2006, 03:26 PM ---Too long? Maybe I am just crazy but I wish it was longer. I would have enjoyed watching all of their meetings- I just love these two characters. I didn't want the movie to end because I enjoy it so much and because we all know what the end brings.  :'(

Thanks for posting the review.

--- End quote ---

I remember that when BBM first came out, the 'length' was the feature most criticized by the reviewers.  This is ironic since Ang Lee pruned quite a lot from the film, and what remains is beautifully faithful to the substance and spirit of the story.

One my first viewing of BBM, I was thinking whether the movie could have been shortened abit more.  On second viewing, I said to myself: what was I thinking?

I agree with you.  I wish it were longer.  I wish the 'Embrace' flashback was a bit longer. 

If the reviewer does watch this movie a second time, I am sure he will change his mind.

Thanks.


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