Brokeback Mountain and the Golden Globes
Okay, I've had some time to let Brokeback Mountain settle in my head, so I'm going to jot down my thoughts:
First of all, for anyone who has read Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain", the movie sticks quite close to the story. The script does a fabulous job of taking the best moments of the story and breathing life into them onscreen.
I can't say enough about the strength of Heath Ledger's and Jake Gyllenhaal's performances. Both are brilliant and passionate actors, and I knew that going in. But they truly outdid themselves for these roles. I've been following Heath since--embarassing moment coming up--10 Things I Hate About You. He's grown tremendously as an actor since then. His scenes were muted but intense, and my heart broke for him.
As for Jake...why the heck wasn't he nominated for a Golden Globe?!?!?! I'm glad that Heath was, and that the movie itself garnered several nods-->Golden Globe Nominations. But what about Jake? His performance was outstanding. He conveyed Jack Twist's desperation and yearning and love perfectly. It's a shame he wasn't nominated.
The chemistry the two actors shared was intense and satisfying. Even though I knew that things were never going to work out for the Ennis and Jack, the strength of the actors' performance made me somehow believe that it would. Does that make any sense? No? Okay. Truly, though, Heath and Jake really played off each other beautifully.
The dialogue was fantastic. Dialogue is usually one of the first things I notice (for better or for worse), and this stuff? It blew me away. It wasn't stilted or forced. It just flowed wonderfully...every beautiful, grammatically incorrect sentence. Loved it.
The rest of the cast gave solid performances. Randy Quaid is always good, even though he was basically playing a stock character. Michelle Williams rocked. She was nominated for a Golden Globe, and deservedly so.
Okay, now the ending. I've read it, and I've seen it onscreen, and I still feel conflicted over it. I'm a happy-ending gal, so naturally, I wanted to see them tell the world to go screw itself and get a little house together in California. But the ending really did work, and it broke my heart. From Heath's interaction with Jack's mother to the scene of him clutching the shirts to the scene where he gazed at the shirts and postcard... Wow.
I have more to say, but I've rambled long enough.
By the way, it really bothered me that Ennis called his daughter Alma Junior.
First of all, for anyone who has read Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain", the movie sticks quite close to the story. The script does a fabulous job of taking the best moments of the story and breathing life into them onscreen.
I can't say enough about the strength of Heath Ledger's and Jake Gyllenhaal's performances. Both are brilliant and passionate actors, and I knew that going in. But they truly outdid themselves for these roles. I've been following Heath since--embarassing moment coming up--10 Things I Hate About You. He's grown tremendously as an actor since then. His scenes were muted but intense, and my heart broke for him.
As for Jake...why the heck wasn't he nominated for a Golden Globe?!?!?! I'm glad that Heath was, and that the movie itself garnered several nods-->Golden Globe Nominations. But what about Jake? His performance was outstanding. He conveyed Jack Twist's desperation and yearning and love perfectly. It's a shame he wasn't nominated.
The chemistry the two actors shared was intense and satisfying. Even though I knew that things were never going to work out for the Ennis and Jack, the strength of the actors' performance made me somehow believe that it would. Does that make any sense? No? Okay. Truly, though, Heath and Jake really played off each other beautifully.
The dialogue was fantastic. Dialogue is usually one of the first things I notice (for better or for worse), and this stuff? It blew me away. It wasn't stilted or forced. It just flowed wonderfully...every beautiful, grammatically incorrect sentence. Loved it.
The rest of the cast gave solid performances. Randy Quaid is always good, even though he was basically playing a stock character. Michelle Williams rocked. She was nominated for a Golden Globe, and deservedly so.
Okay, now the ending. I've read it, and I've seen it onscreen, and I still feel conflicted over it. I'm a happy-ending gal, so naturally, I wanted to see them tell the world to go screw itself and get a little house together in California. But the ending really did work, and it broke my heart. From Heath's interaction with Jack's mother to the scene of him clutching the shirts to the scene where he gazed at the shirts and postcard... Wow.
I have more to say, but I've rambled long enough.
By the way, it really bothered me that Ennis called his daughter Alma Junior.