'Brokeback Mountain' a Western at heart
April 13. 2006 6:01AM
No doubt, you already have heard way too much about "Brokeback
Mountain." It's one of those movies that gets most of its advertising
free on the evening news or in Jay Leno monologues. Some people love
it, some people despise it, but everyone in the country has heard
about it. (This is due mostly to the people who despise it, who make
such a stink that it ends up being news.)
And, of course, the thing you know most about this movie is that it is
"a gay cowboy movie."
This may be somewhat accurate, but this description is often used in a
dismissive way - if people brand it a "gay" movie, then they can feel
justified in never giving it a chance.
Come on, people, this is America! Can't two male sheepherders have sex
together without it being called "gay"? Aren't we better than that?
In reality, "Brokeback Mountain" is at its heart a drama in the grand
tradition of the Western. It has a touch of true love in it and some
genuine sadness. But once you get past all that, "Brokeback," like
many great Westerns, is a story about a man struggling with who he is.
Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) is as butch and rough-hewn as he is
quiet; he makes Clint Eastwood sound like a livestock auctioneer.
Ennis picks up some seasonal work herding sheep up on Brokeback
Mountain, and there he meets fellow cowpoke Jack Twist (Jake
Gyllenhaal)
Ennis and Jack fall in love on Brokeback, but when the job is over
they go their separate ways. Ennis is a realist (he remembers from a
childhood flashback what gruesome fates befall those men who lie down
with other men) and, besides, he has a fiancé waiting for him back in
Wyoming.
"Brokeback" follows Ennis and Jack over the next 20 years. But the
real story lies with Ennis, who struggles with a huge dilemma he can
never quite untangle.
In truth, "Brokeback" is not a gay movie. It is, in fact, considerably
less gay than "Chronicles of Narnia," depending, I guess, on your
definition of "gay."
But "Brokeback" is not for everyone. If the thought of two men kissing
makes your stomach churn, "Brokeback" probably won't change the way
you feel. But on the other hand, those queasy with cowboy kissin'
still get to see plenty of the female form (including "Ella Enchanted"
star Anne Hathaway). So there's that.
Still, "Brokeback" is not a gay story. It is not even a love story.
The movie is really about a man struggling to reconcile who he is with
who he wants to be. In the soft science of social psychology, this is
called "cognitive dissonance," the struggle between the ideal self and
the actual self.
Ennis Del Mar's struggle brings him pain and misery. The fact that his
struggle is about his sexuality was highly publicized to such a degree
that it overshadowed what the film was really about.
This happens to director Ang Lee quite a bit. His "Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon" is labeled a martial arts movie when it is in fact a
weepy love story. And his "Hulk" was labeled a superhero action movie,
when in reality it was a big steaming pile of detritus.
This sort of thing also happens from time to time with movies not
directed by Ang Lee.
A recent example is "Domino." At first it was marketed as a tough-girl
action movie, but then the studio changed gears and promoted it as a
quirky comedy with guns and romance. It was very hard to figure out
what kind of movie "Domino" was, and thus no one went to see it.
A much better example is "American Psycho."
Made in 2000 and starring the brilliant Christian Bale, "American
Psycho" is about a rich yuppie who is also a serial killer. It was
marketed as a horror/slasher flick, and because of the title and
subject matter, that is how people label it to this day.
But "American Psycho" is no more a horror movie than "Brokeback" is a
gay movie. "Psycho" is actually one of the funniest black comedies
ever made. Yes, there are chainsaws, axes, knives, dead hookers and
the old severed-head-in-the-fridge routine. But beyond all the
slasher-movie trappings, "American Psycho" is a deft comedy that
skewers corporate culture.
Bale is Patrick Bateman, a faceless corporate exec in a sea of similar
faceless executives. He obsesses over details, makes obscene amounts
of money and constantly compares business cards with everyone he
meets. That Patrick is completely unhinged, and spends his nights
committing horrible murders, goes unnoticed by everyone around him. No
matter what he says or does, he never stops being anonymous.
One night, a friend catches Patrick dragging a corpse in a travel bag
and stuffing it into the trunk of a car.
"Oh my god!" the witness exclaims in shock. "Where did you get that bag?"
A horror movie? Nah. Most people just didn't get the joke.
And then there is "Mrs. Doubtfire," which is considered a comedy even
though it is obviously a horror movie. It still chills my soul to this
very day.
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Link to original source:
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