Brokeback Mountain (Movie Review)

One of these days, I'm going to review a movie I either really love... or terribly hate. But since I'm not paid to write reviews, I generally avoid films that I suspect I'll dislike. And there are only a handful I truly adore (see my profile for such a list).

I mention this because I seem to give everything a "so-so" review here. I'm usually irritated by certain aspects of a film, even when I find it to be otherwise enjoyable. Most of the movies I watch fall into this category, and only a few gems would ever warrant a rave review.

It likely comes as no surprise, then, that I found Brokeback Mountain (2005) to be a decent enough film. And by that I mean: it's certainly profound in that it provokes a mainstream audience to sympathize with something once taboo. It even goes beyond this, in fact, and does a darn good job depicting the various complications involved in a relationship that, given the time and place, was not only "taboo" — but outright forbidden.

Brokeback Mountain is an effective film insofar as it portrays all of the problems that arise when two men, Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar (played by Jake Glyllenhal and Heath Ledger, respectively), are unable to actively pursue a healthy, romantic relationship. With the beginning action set in the mountains of Wyoming in the 1960s, both feel societal pressures to marry women and participate in the dynamic of so-called nuclear families.

And even though Twist tells Del Mar that a life together is possible, Del Mar refuses on the grounds that they'd be putting their lives at stake. They both attempt "normal" family lives, as a result, though both are ultimately miserable... save their rare moments together.

The film's efficacy goes beyond this. Rather than limit its focus to Twist and Del Mar's mutual bond, Brokeback likewise demonstrates how their respective wives (and children) are hurt not so much by the homosexual relationship itself... but by the simple fact that Twist and Del Mar do a terrible job hiding their resentment. Del Mar treats his wife poorly, and Twist marries a woman he can hardly stand (perhaps to keep from feeling guilty for his stray "adventures").

In these respects, I enjoyed the film immensely. But I resented some insinuations that seemed to crop up elsewhere. And, whether intended or not, I was unable to overlook their presence. From what we see in Brokeback Mountain, it appears that:

• All unhappily married men are homosexuals
• All men have homosexual tendencies
• If a man isn't gay, a woman's nagging will make him so

Also, in terms of cinematography - which was so highly regarded circa this year's Academy Awards - I felt the Wyoming/Canadian scenery is the sort of visual poetry that writes itself. No fancy-pants camera guy needed. That's not to say the direction was a failure, however; I thought it helped pull the film through some moments of bad writing (as in, "I wish I could quit you!").

I also had issues with Glyllenhal's moustache, which I felt existed as another character altogether and should've been credited at the movie's end.