I CANNOT BELIEVE, I just tried to post this just now and I just has a power outage and LOST EVERYTHING I had written. UGH. :\'( Please bear with me, I know this has been talked about elsewhere but I'm sure you all will understand that insane need to express something about this movie.
I received an insight last night while watching the movie. One of the last things Jack says after coming off the mountain is "If the army don't get me." I am thinking that line must have weighed heavily on Ennis' mind, four years roll by and he doesn't know if Jack's gone to war and doesn't know if he's alive or dead. It must have eaten him up, trying to be a "normal" husband and father, but wondering all the while whether Jack was alive. What a feeling of euphoria he must have had when he gets that postcard, at least receving evidence that Jack is alive and living in Texas. And then that uncontainable joy when he see Jack step out of his truck ..alive and whole and looking as hot and virile as ever. No wonder Ennis practically flew down that landing and landed on Jack!
And then we get the almost painful "pulling back" after their earth-shattering kiss, the desperate return to normalcy. Ennis' whispered "Later" always gets me, followed by that tantalizing head nudge, like he just couldn't help himself. What follows when Ennis introduces Jack, is, I think some of the best acting in this movie. The way Jack and Ennis are talking with their chests heaving, like they can barely catch their breath. The short choppy sentences, like they can barely think, let alone breathe. The way they can't look at each other without drowning, so they have to look down at their feet every few seconds. The way both men kind of stick their hands/fingers in their pockets, as if to stop them from trembling or to keep them off each other. The way Ennis leans against the door jamb so he's facing Jack and has to turn his head to talk to Alma, like he just can't keep Jack out of his sight and needs him even in his peripheral vision. Of course, Jack's " I have a boy. Eight months old. Smiles a lot" -- desperately saying whatever comes into his head, reminding himself to be polite, flashes that salesman smile of his as if to say, "Yah, I'm just a good ole boy, yup, come up here for a few beers, talk about old times with my fishing buddy..." . Then that distinct " Well enough small talk" moment and Ennis hurriedly nudges Jack out the door. Love it, love it, love it.
I know Michelle has great moments here too (Her expression when she says, "Sure" gulp "Sure 'nuf"), but to me it's all about the boys. I know this is OT but DAMN YOU Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Both Heath and Jake deserved Oscars!!!
Back on track, I was wondering if Ennis did do some grieving during the four years they were first apart, if that helped him deal with Jack's real death at the end? Or had their relationship evolved so much after 20 years that the first 4 years apart are just a distant memory? Were the 4 years apart just a foreshadowing of the later ultimate separation between them? Any thoughts?
