Finally Saw Brokeback Mountain Wednesday...
... and I would have written about it sooner but I've had family visiting.
It's official ... BBM may not open in the Tacoma area until after the New Year (at best) ... so of course I got impatient, stuck my tail between my legs, bundled up and took the two-hour bus trip up to Seattle to see it at the Egyptian Theater, a queer movie house that (bless them) is showing the film almost exclusively for the rest of the month and well into January *hugs theater*
Anyway ... DUDE! Excellent film, and made more so by the fact that the audience I saw it with was beyond awesome *hugs audience* Not quite the tearjerker I'd been expecting, very subtle and understated, but still extremely emotional, incredibly powerful ... and I don't think I've ever seen so many gay men weep.
*again ... hugs audience*
I know a movie is good when I'm still thinking about it hours after the credits have rolled. Most times, even if I enjoy a movie I'll forget about it almost completely afterwards. Movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Professional stayed in my subconscious each time after I watched them, and I suspect BBM will be no different in that respect.
The show started at 4:00 and I got there an hour early (stupid confusing big-city bus routes), and was surprised at how busy the theater was already, people lining up outside, smoking, talking, and going on about how excited they were for the movie. While there were a lot of gay/lesbian couples, I was surprised at how many straight couples, families, and even kids were there, which was of course GREAT. I got to talking with a really sweet middle-aged fella (who, like me, had been waiting for the movie to open for the last year), and he said that the short story had hit really close to home for him the first time he'd read it, and he wanted to see if the film did it justice.
And ON TO THE FILM!
The movie, which is very faithful to the story (with a few things added or elaborated upon, but it all works very well in the scheme of the film), is definitely one to be seen in the theaters -- the photography alone is incredibly beautiful and I'm sensing it might lose some of its spark on a regular TV. That said, the performances by the cast, Heath and Jake in particular, are spot-on and near perfect ... honestly guys, I haven't been so moved by a cinematic love story since The Professional more than 10 years ago ... BBM is decidedly less creepy, though no less brilliant =)
Anyhow ... Heath and Jake. Damn, they did a fucking excellent job as Ennis and Jack, the two cowboys who meet (and fall in love) while working together for a summer on Brokeback Mountain in 1963. Ennis, as Heath plays him, is very quiet and almost taciturn in his way of moving and speaking, and doesn't emote much unless he's using his fists ... pretty much the quintessential cowboy. And I have to say ... for the 2+ hours Heath's onscreen -- dude isEnnis. It's really an extraordinary performance -- he nails emoting as a man who doesn't have a handle on his emotions, and conveys a myriad of emotions with a single glance. Jack, on the other hand, is the more romantic of the two, happy-go-lucky (at least in the beginning) and the one who wants to seek a future together. While the praise for Heath is well-founded, I don't think Jake's getting the kudos he deserves, because his was just as brilliant a performance and the film wouldn't have been quite as heartfelt without it.
Also, I gotta give props to the ladies in the film. Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway and even the chick from Freaks and Geeks (I forget her name) really help bring out the tragedy in the story, Michelle in particular as Ennis' wife Alma. While they don't have a lot of screen time, the girls hold their own during the film. And I'm in love with Anne Hathaway.
Things I liked (which is, obviously, a LOT):
* As Ennis waits for Aguirre, Jack drives up in his truck, sees Ennis for the first time ... the look in his eyes and his stance as he leans against the truck is very 'come hither' ... sultry, even. Jake Gyllenhall has such wonderfully expressive eyes that he doesn't have to say much to get something across, and that's certainly true in this scene. As Jack watches him, Ennis takes notices and appears to sort of shy away from his gaze. This really sets the mood for the rest of the film.
* Basically the first half hour of the film, which focuses on Ennis and Jack's budding friendship. It's all done very well and they both play off each other beautifully. Ennis really appears to open up as he and Jack warm up to each other, and its pretty obvious Ennis has never been so open with anyone else. His quiet natures works in great contrast to Jack's lively spirit. And I absolutely ♥ Jack's harmonica =D
* The boys drinking whiskey in front of the fire and Ennis crawling on all fours trying to get back to his horse. Hee.
* The first sex scene and the tender kissing the following night. Guh. Both scenes are brief, but very intense. The first scene isn't graphic, but you definitely get the gist of what's happening -- they struggle, Jack starts to undo his belt when Ennis sort of takes charge and shoves him to his knees and takes him from behind. Again, they just show enough so that you know what's happening ... I've seen a lot more graphic sex on Nip/Tuck. And then the kissing the next night ... the audience laughed a little when Ennis shows up at the flap, holding his hat over his crotch before he shyly enters, unsure and excited at the same time. It's only about a minute long, but still ... wow.
* The reunion scene. When Ennis waits by the window, smoking like a chimney and the empty beer bottles multiplying around him ... hee! And awww. And the smile on his face when Jack drives up ... so great. The powerful hug they share, then Ennis walking Jack against the wall before they meet in that bruising kiss ... dude. They part for a beat and stare at each other before Jack kisses him back just as heatedly ... *thud*
* Alma's reaction to the above scene. When she opens the door and sees her husband kissing someone else, and another man no less, the disbelief in her face made me cringe in sympathy. You can actually see her world sort of fall apart after that. Total "misery-voice/face" from then on. Also, When Ennis introduces Jack to Alma, I loved the body lauguage from Jake and Michele. He keeps his head tucked down, seems to avoid her gaze, and she just looks shell shocked.
* Both of the Thanksgiving scenes at Jack's house and with Ennis' family. Jack standing up to his father-in-law was just spiffy. Much laughing and clapping abounded at the "SIT DOWN, YOU OL' SONOFABITCH!" Hee. And I don't know why this was so funny but when we cut to Ennis having Thankgiving dinner with Alma and the kids and her new husband is carving away at the turkey with an electric knife ... *snurkle*
* Alma confronting Ennis about Jack. Wow. Very intense scene ... it's powerful in the story and I was cringing at how heated it really was onscreen. Ennis grabbing her arm and threating her with a fist, then him storming out of the house with his daughters calling out "Bye, Daddy!" Heh. Then when he picks a fight outside of a bar immediately afterwards ... ouch.
* Ennis' relationship with his daughters, Alma Jr. in particular. It's obvious that he loves his girls, even though he isn't the best father to them.
* The way Ennis and Jack aged throughout the film, which couldn't have been too easy. Both guys are in their mid/late twenties, and they have to age twenty years. Jake's physical transformation was the more sucessful of the two; beside the gray at the temples and some nifty sideburns, they give him a bit of a potbelly and a porn!stache and he looks like something out of Dallas. With Heath, it was less in the wrinkles and more in his stance and the way that he carried himself that he pulled off growing older (though I liked that they gave him sunspots), so sad and disappointed and so obviously not a young man anymore.
* Ennis and Jack's last meeting together, their confrontation, and the flashback to the mountain. Both guys do a brilliant job in this sequence, and we got the full blast of their frustrations and disappointments. Everything from the "I wish I knew how to quit you!" to the flashback when they shared that "dozy embrace" back up on the mountain to present-day Jack (with the most heartbreakingly weary expression on his face) watching Ennis drive away ... beautifully done.
* When Ennis calls Jack's house and Lureen confirms that he's dead. The scene is just the way it's described in the story, though I seriously give Anne Hathaway props for her performance here. Her voice on the phone is civil but frosty, and you can see her battling with her own realizations during the convo. She mentions to Ennis that it had been Jack's wish to have his ashes scattered on Brokeback but she thought it was a made-up place, and when Ennis tells her that they'd worked there together twenty years earlier, the pain in her eyes and the strangled whimpers that she lets out ... it's like she just had it confirmed that there wasn't any real love between her and Jack afterall. Marry me, Anne Hathaway.
* The last ten minutes of the movie, particularly the last sequence with Ennis and his daughter. She tells him that she's getting married and then he asks her (with the most earnest expression on his face) if the guy loves her. It's here that you get the impression that Ennis has come to terms with what he had with Jack, though it comes much too late. Then when we see the two shirts hanging in the closet with the image of the mountain and Ennis staring at it through a few stinging tears ... my heart dun broked =( The only thing I didn't like was how "Wings" was blasting at full volume through this scene. Beautiful music, but I think the scene might have been just that *touch* more emotional if it had remained largely silent, then maybe have the music start up when Ennis says "Jack, I swear." Even so ... it don't make me any less broked =(
* Willie Nelson singing "He Was a Friend of Mine" through the closing credits. How fucking great is that? It's a cover of the old Bob Dylan song, and it works wonderfully here. *hugs Willie*
Things I didn't like so much (nitpicks):
* The motel scene, when Ennis and Jack reunite after the fours years apart. The scene itself was done very well, but I would have liked more of the conversation from the story to have been included. Ennis expresses himself a bit more in the story, how he'd missed Jack and whatnot. Still, it stands very well as it is onscreen.
* There's a scene where Jack, Lureen and another couple are out together (the wife in the couple is played by Anna Farris), and it appears that Jack and the husband are flirting with each other; later, when the two are outside having a smoke, the guy not-so-subtlely prepositions Jack. It's not this that bothered me, it was how the wife was portrayed -- as a loud-mouth bubble-head, and it appeared to me as if she were nothing more than the butt of a joke. I was even more pissed when people around me started laughing at her. Granted, Anna played the role for laughs, but I don't find it funny when someone is so obviously made a fool of, and it's a heartbreaking situation whether the wife's aware of it or not. Some people also laughed when Alma caught Ennis and Jack kissing and later when Ennis reappeared only to leave on the first of many "fishng trips." There were also quite a few giggles when Jack was looking for his parka to take on another of these trips, Lureen oblivious. The women in the film are just as much tragic figures in the story as the boys are, and it really aggrivated me. Nope, decidely not funny.
* This is just a gripe, but seeing Ennis next to the grown up Alma Jr. ... no way in hell do they look like father and daughter -- big brother and baby sister, maybe. Again, this only manages to work for me thanks to how Ennis carries himself and not so much in the way he looks, but it still bugged me.
Talking to other people who've seen the movie, quite a few of them found it slow-paced and overly long. Personally, that's what I liked about it best. BBM isn't some grand epic with some great hidden "message" to be had if you look hard enough. It's very simply about the relationship between to men over the course of two decades, and how their lives progress while keeping their affair secret. What really makes the film work is how sparse it is, in terms of dialogue or any real explanation as to why things happened the way they did. There are quite a few scenes that are powerful and passionate, but not many words are used. In this way, the movie does let you come to your own conclusions. A few scenes come to mind that really bring this out:
1) Ennis' first appearance onscreen; he's hitched a ride to Aguirre's office and is left on the side of the road, the vast mountains and forests in the background. While the scenery is undeniably beautiful, there is also a very desolate, lonely feeling here, made moreso by the fact that there is no dialogue in the first five minutes or so.
2) On the mountain, Ennis undresses by a river and Jack keeps his back to him. It's a quick scene, but the subtle expressions on Jack's face as Ennis bathes speak volumes. And while we expect him to, Jack never sneaks a look -- fantastic.
3) When Ennis is visiting Jack's childhood home and goes to his bedroom, he walks over to Jack's window, opens it and looks outside quietly for several moments. I got the impression that Ennis was maybe trying to see what Jack saw, how often he must have stared out of that same window and wished to be somewhere, anywhere else but there. Brilliant wordless acting. Of course, by this time, the entire audience had a mad case of the sniffles and when Ennis finds the two shirts hidden in the closet ... yup, broked.
*hugs audience ... cos she just can't do it enough*
It's official ... BBM may not open in the Tacoma area until after the New Year (at best) ... so of course I got impatient, stuck my tail between my legs, bundled up and took the two-hour bus trip up to Seattle to see it at the Egyptian Theater, a queer movie house that (bless them) is showing the film almost exclusively for the rest of the month and well into January *hugs theater*
Anyway ... DUDE! Excellent film, and made more so by the fact that the audience I saw it with was beyond awesome *hugs audience* Not quite the tearjerker I'd been expecting, very subtle and understated, but still extremely emotional, incredibly powerful ... and I don't think I've ever seen so many gay men weep.
*again ... hugs audience*
I know a movie is good when I'm still thinking about it hours after the credits have rolled. Most times, even if I enjoy a movie I'll forget about it almost completely afterwards. Movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Professional stayed in my subconscious each time after I watched them, and I suspect BBM will be no different in that respect.
The show started at 4:00 and I got there an hour early (stupid confusing big-city bus routes), and was surprised at how busy the theater was already, people lining up outside, smoking, talking, and going on about how excited they were for the movie. While there were a lot of gay/lesbian couples, I was surprised at how many straight couples, families, and even kids were there, which was of course GREAT. I got to talking with a really sweet middle-aged fella (who, like me, had been waiting for the movie to open for the last year), and he said that the short story had hit really close to home for him the first time he'd read it, and he wanted to see if the film did it justice.
And ON TO THE FILM!
The movie, which is very faithful to the story (with a few things added or elaborated upon, but it all works very well in the scheme of the film), is definitely one to be seen in the theaters -- the photography alone is incredibly beautiful and I'm sensing it might lose some of its spark on a regular TV. That said, the performances by the cast, Heath and Jake in particular, are spot-on and near perfect ... honestly guys, I haven't been so moved by a cinematic love story since The Professional more than 10 years ago ... BBM is decidedly less creepy, though no less brilliant =)
Anyhow ... Heath and Jake. Damn, they did a fucking excellent job as Ennis and Jack, the two cowboys who meet (and fall in love) while working together for a summer on Brokeback Mountain in 1963. Ennis, as Heath plays him, is very quiet and almost taciturn in his way of moving and speaking, and doesn't emote much unless he's using his fists ... pretty much the quintessential cowboy. And I have to say ... for the 2+ hours Heath's onscreen -- dude isEnnis. It's really an extraordinary performance -- he nails emoting as a man who doesn't have a handle on his emotions, and conveys a myriad of emotions with a single glance. Jack, on the other hand, is the more romantic of the two, happy-go-lucky (at least in the beginning) and the one who wants to seek a future together. While the praise for Heath is well-founded, I don't think Jake's getting the kudos he deserves, because his was just as brilliant a performance and the film wouldn't have been quite as heartfelt without it.
Also, I gotta give props to the ladies in the film. Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway and even the chick from Freaks and Geeks (I forget her name) really help bring out the tragedy in the story, Michelle in particular as Ennis' wife Alma. While they don't have a lot of screen time, the girls hold their own during the film. And I'm in love with Anne Hathaway.
Things I liked (which is, obviously, a LOT):
* As Ennis waits for Aguirre, Jack drives up in his truck, sees Ennis for the first time ... the look in his eyes and his stance as he leans against the truck is very 'come hither' ... sultry, even. Jake Gyllenhall has such wonderfully expressive eyes that he doesn't have to say much to get something across, and that's certainly true in this scene. As Jack watches him, Ennis takes notices and appears to sort of shy away from his gaze. This really sets the mood for the rest of the film.
* Basically the first half hour of the film, which focuses on Ennis and Jack's budding friendship. It's all done very well and they both play off each other beautifully. Ennis really appears to open up as he and Jack warm up to each other, and its pretty obvious Ennis has never been so open with anyone else. His quiet natures works in great contrast to Jack's lively spirit. And I absolutely ♥ Jack's harmonica =D
* The boys drinking whiskey in front of the fire and Ennis crawling on all fours trying to get back to his horse. Hee.
* The first sex scene and the tender kissing the following night. Guh. Both scenes are brief, but very intense. The first scene isn't graphic, but you definitely get the gist of what's happening -- they struggle, Jack starts to undo his belt when Ennis sort of takes charge and shoves him to his knees and takes him from behind. Again, they just show enough so that you know what's happening ... I've seen a lot more graphic sex on Nip/Tuck. And then the kissing the next night ... the audience laughed a little when Ennis shows up at the flap, holding his hat over his crotch before he shyly enters, unsure and excited at the same time. It's only about a minute long, but still ... wow.
* The reunion scene. When Ennis waits by the window, smoking like a chimney and the empty beer bottles multiplying around him ... hee! And awww. And the smile on his face when Jack drives up ... so great. The powerful hug they share, then Ennis walking Jack against the wall before they meet in that bruising kiss ... dude. They part for a beat and stare at each other before Jack kisses him back just as heatedly ... *thud*
* Alma's reaction to the above scene. When she opens the door and sees her husband kissing someone else, and another man no less, the disbelief in her face made me cringe in sympathy. You can actually see her world sort of fall apart after that. Total "misery-voice/face" from then on. Also, When Ennis introduces Jack to Alma, I loved the body lauguage from Jake and Michele. He keeps his head tucked down, seems to avoid her gaze, and she just looks shell shocked.
* Both of the Thanksgiving scenes at Jack's house and with Ennis' family. Jack standing up to his father-in-law was just spiffy. Much laughing and clapping abounded at the "SIT DOWN, YOU OL' SONOFABITCH!" Hee. And I don't know why this was so funny but when we cut to Ennis having Thankgiving dinner with Alma and the kids and her new husband is carving away at the turkey with an electric knife ... *snurkle*
* Alma confronting Ennis about Jack. Wow. Very intense scene ... it's powerful in the story and I was cringing at how heated it really was onscreen. Ennis grabbing her arm and threating her with a fist, then him storming out of the house with his daughters calling out "Bye, Daddy!" Heh. Then when he picks a fight outside of a bar immediately afterwards ... ouch.
* Ennis' relationship with his daughters, Alma Jr. in particular. It's obvious that he loves his girls, even though he isn't the best father to them.
* The way Ennis and Jack aged throughout the film, which couldn't have been too easy. Both guys are in their mid/late twenties, and they have to age twenty years. Jake's physical transformation was the more sucessful of the two; beside the gray at the temples and some nifty sideburns, they give him a bit of a potbelly and a porn!stache and he looks like something out of Dallas. With Heath, it was less in the wrinkles and more in his stance and the way that he carried himself that he pulled off growing older (though I liked that they gave him sunspots), so sad and disappointed and so obviously not a young man anymore.
* Ennis and Jack's last meeting together, their confrontation, and the flashback to the mountain. Both guys do a brilliant job in this sequence, and we got the full blast of their frustrations and disappointments. Everything from the "I wish I knew how to quit you!" to the flashback when they shared that "dozy embrace" back up on the mountain to present-day Jack (with the most heartbreakingly weary expression on his face) watching Ennis drive away ... beautifully done.
* When Ennis calls Jack's house and Lureen confirms that he's dead. The scene is just the way it's described in the story, though I seriously give Anne Hathaway props for her performance here. Her voice on the phone is civil but frosty, and you can see her battling with her own realizations during the convo. She mentions to Ennis that it had been Jack's wish to have his ashes scattered on Brokeback but she thought it was a made-up place, and when Ennis tells her that they'd worked there together twenty years earlier, the pain in her eyes and the strangled whimpers that she lets out ... it's like she just had it confirmed that there wasn't any real love between her and Jack afterall. Marry me, Anne Hathaway.
* The last ten minutes of the movie, particularly the last sequence with Ennis and his daughter. She tells him that she's getting married and then he asks her (with the most earnest expression on his face) if the guy loves her. It's here that you get the impression that Ennis has come to terms with what he had with Jack, though it comes much too late. Then when we see the two shirts hanging in the closet with the image of the mountain and Ennis staring at it through a few stinging tears ... my heart dun broked =( The only thing I didn't like was how "Wings" was blasting at full volume through this scene. Beautiful music, but I think the scene might have been just that *touch* more emotional if it had remained largely silent, then maybe have the music start up when Ennis says "Jack, I swear." Even so ... it don't make me any less broked =(
* Willie Nelson singing "He Was a Friend of Mine" through the closing credits. How fucking great is that? It's a cover of the old Bob Dylan song, and it works wonderfully here. *hugs Willie*
Things I didn't like so much (nitpicks):
* The motel scene, when Ennis and Jack reunite after the fours years apart. The scene itself was done very well, but I would have liked more of the conversation from the story to have been included. Ennis expresses himself a bit more in the story, how he'd missed Jack and whatnot. Still, it stands very well as it is onscreen.
* There's a scene where Jack, Lureen and another couple are out together (the wife in the couple is played by Anna Farris), and it appears that Jack and the husband are flirting with each other; later, when the two are outside having a smoke, the guy not-so-subtlely prepositions Jack. It's not this that bothered me, it was how the wife was portrayed -- as a loud-mouth bubble-head, and it appeared to me as if she were nothing more than the butt of a joke. I was even more pissed when people around me started laughing at her. Granted, Anna played the role for laughs, but I don't find it funny when someone is so obviously made a fool of, and it's a heartbreaking situation whether the wife's aware of it or not. Some people also laughed when Alma caught Ennis and Jack kissing and later when Ennis reappeared only to leave on the first of many "fishng trips." There were also quite a few giggles when Jack was looking for his parka to take on another of these trips, Lureen oblivious. The women in the film are just as much tragic figures in the story as the boys are, and it really aggrivated me. Nope, decidely not funny.
* This is just a gripe, but seeing Ennis next to the grown up Alma Jr. ... no way in hell do they look like father and daughter -- big brother and baby sister, maybe. Again, this only manages to work for me thanks to how Ennis carries himself and not so much in the way he looks, but it still bugged me.
Talking to other people who've seen the movie, quite a few of them found it slow-paced and overly long. Personally, that's what I liked about it best. BBM isn't some grand epic with some great hidden "message" to be had if you look hard enough. It's very simply about the relationship between to men over the course of two decades, and how their lives progress while keeping their affair secret. What really makes the film work is how sparse it is, in terms of dialogue or any real explanation as to why things happened the way they did. There are quite a few scenes that are powerful and passionate, but not many words are used. In this way, the movie does let you come to your own conclusions. A few scenes come to mind that really bring this out:
1) Ennis' first appearance onscreen; he's hitched a ride to Aguirre's office and is left on the side of the road, the vast mountains and forests in the background. While the scenery is undeniably beautiful, there is also a very desolate, lonely feeling here, made moreso by the fact that there is no dialogue in the first five minutes or so.
2) On the mountain, Ennis undresses by a river and Jack keeps his back to him. It's a quick scene, but the subtle expressions on Jack's face as Ennis bathes speak volumes. And while we expect him to, Jack never sneaks a look -- fantastic.
3) When Ennis is visiting Jack's childhood home and goes to his bedroom, he walks over to Jack's window, opens it and looks outside quietly for several moments. I got the impression that Ennis was maybe trying to see what Jack saw, how often he must have stared out of that same window and wished to be somewhere, anywhere else but there. Brilliant wordless acting. Of course, by this time, the entire audience had a mad case of the sniffles and when Ennis finds the two shirts hidden in the closet ... yup, broked.
*hugs audience ... cos she just can't do it enough*