.......
Then, I remembered another thread in which I stated that I wasn't too happy about the writers sending Jack off to Mexico. I said it made it look like the only reason Jack came to see Ennis after the divorce was for sex and when he was sent away by Ennis without it, Jack went off to Mexico where he did get it in the end. (A little double entendre humor there if I might be afforded the liberty. :D )
A good exchange of ideas took place in that thread and not once did I see anyone label Jack good or bad. If anything, I think most people took Jack's side in the discussion. I, couldn't comment one way or the other about what was being said because of my total lack of experience. While I found, and still find, some of the reasons given for Jack going to Mexico unimaginable, I didn't say he was either bad or good.
I still stick by my feeling that the writers made it appear that sex was what Jack needed and couldn't get and off he goes to Mexico. I do not like the scene.
Of course, it could be that I didn't like the scene because I am Ennis and Ennis' behavior was so outrageous that I just want the scene to go away. Ennis hurt Jack so bad that day. I couldn't believe Ennis could be in love with someone and treat him that way. Surely I could never do that...could I? .....
Hmm, I have to say I never once thought that Jack's taking off to Mexico was meant to imply that all he had gone to Ennis for was the sex. And since the heart of the story is their life-long love for each other, I really can't believe that was the intent of the scene either...
Watching Jack drive away and trying to recover from what had just happen it looks as if he went to Mexico entirely on impulse in reaction to his hurt, not out of a frustrated libido. I've always believed, too, that this was the first time he had looked to be with another man since he and Ennis had reunited.
When you're rejected by someone you love, even if you know they're sorry for hurting you, it's not uncommon to lash back by doing something that might be considered self-destructive. Having Ennis turn him away like that was not only hurtful, it was humiliating.
There were likely a jumble of reasons why Jack took off for Mexico right then. Picking up a stranger when he knows how possessive Ennis is may have been a way to hit back and say "to hell with you, then". ; he may have wanted to punish Ennis - and himself for needing Ennis so bad that he had left himself open to humiliation; he may have just been so damn broken at that point and desperate for the touch of another human being (one he could maybe pretend was Ennis) that he sought out what cold comfort he could.
Emotions are rarely a simple "one of" and everything gets mixed up together driving us to poor choices sometimes. There was probably a lot going on in his head we haven't considered yet, these few possibilities just came to me. And maybe the need for sex was in there too ...
But Mexico = simple sex ?? as Ennis said "no way!".
BTW - thinking about it now - by deciding to go to Mexico Jack was still being protective of Ennis. Jack obviously knew that Mexico was "the place", he could pick up someone without too much danger to himself, Ennis would never need to know since it's so far out his circle, and this encounter would be completely anonymous. There is absolutely no chance that Jack would start up a relationship with this one-night stand. Which is likely why Randall's propostion to him later (quietly) freaked him out - it was the complete opposite of the Mexico situation.
Just my thoughts on the whole divorce misunderstanding debacle .. since it kills me everytime. Like Patriot1 and most others who have posted in this thread I don't think there was anything inherently bad in either man. To use another Ennis-ism ..."they did the best they could "...
But as mentioned earlier, regardless of what we loving fans write here, I have seen in the media, in film reviews and articles, where some critics have cast Jack in a less then positive light. Most likely these people had only seen the film once, which I think we can agree isn't enough pick up on all the undercurrents going on. And of course, there are some people who just don't "get" it. So to these people, maybe the trip to Mexico might seem to be just about sex. We know better, of course, because we do "get" how much they loved each other, whatever their actions or words.
My 25 cents worth, since I appear to be incapable of giving only 2. lol
