Film Review - Brokeback Mountain

Starting in Wyoming in 1963, two men get summer jobs minding sheep on Brokeback Mountain. In the midst of hard work, austere weather conditions, and little to comfort them, they seek solace in each other. What unfolds is a two hour masterpiece describing a 20 year love affair, while for the eyes of the world, they live a life much like any other. This involves them marrying, having families of their own and having to organise clandestine fishing trips in the mountains to spend any time together. The film, based on a short story by Anne Proulx, describes all the joy/tragedy/guilt/deception contained in such a life.

I have deliberately described very little in the plot – nothing much more really happens anyway, but to describe events would prevent them from unfolding gently, in the way Ang Lee directs them. Even though 20 years is compressed into only 2 hours, it feels very unhurried; this fine judgment is key to the picture’s success. As a simple story, it relies on succeeding on multiple layers to work on film, particularly since both leads say very little during large passages of the screenplay. It relies on the director Ang Lee understanding the power of visuals, the soundtrack and having expertly fine control over pace. As a lesson in “less is more” filmmaking, it is an exceptional example.

The Wyoming scenery (actually Canadian) is beautiful. Lee picks tree-lined mountain scenes with impressive peaks and rock-lined rivers, and as such it is stunning. There are moments where the audience are encouraged to soak up the scenery, accompanied by the beautiful acoustic guitar soundtrack provided by Gustavo Santaolalla (for which he won a Golden Globe). Lee really understands how to make the silent pieces work for the atmosphere, and it only serves to illustrate the simple nature of his characters. Not only do they share a love that dare not speak its name, but a love about which they themselves speak little.

As for the performances, there’s bucketloads of brilliance on display. Jake Gyllenhaal is brilliant as Jack Twist, who has a sense of mischief in his character. Michelle Williams manages to pull off happiness with suppressed despair all through her marriage to Heath Ledger’s Ennis del Mar, who steals the show. As a brooding non-communicative rancher, he has all the qualities of a moody man’s man. He is the one most affected by their relationship; the first to marry, the one most shocked by his feelings for Jack, and the one least prepared to show affection. But there’s tenderness within; he cares deeply for Jack, even if he is often unable to express it emotionally. Lacking Jack’s life-skills, he takes it harder, and never really adjusts. This underpins the tragedy of their love, and added to his guilt and inability to balance his love with the rest of his life, he stands a tragic figure. It is a very touching character study of a man who is ultimately undone by his love for another.

This detail in characterisation, combined with the non-graphic nature of the love scenes, makes it easy not to get distracted by the fact that it’s a single sex relationship. It is a love story foremost, and while the societal aspects of their hidden relationship shape their lives, the human tragedy of enforced separation dominates. As a moving, beautiful movie masterpiece, it will have few (if any) equals this year. 9/10