steve kwan user experience designer

Review: Brokeback Mountain

(December 30th, 2005 - 1:59AM)

Heath Ledger once again picks up his lance and returns to the big screen. No, it's not a sequel to A Knight's Tale, it's Brokeback Mountain. Picture shamelessly borrowed from Roger Ebert.

(4 / 5 stars)

One sentence summary: It's not spectacular, but everyone should see this movie regardless.

Brokeback Mountain is not your average love story, but you probably know that already. It's forbidden love of a different kind: two cowboys in Wyoming during the sixties. Ang Lee directs (weird), with Heath Ledger (weird), Jake Gyllenhaal (weird) and Anne Hathaway (weird) on the screen. But Brokeback Mountain is all about Heath Ledger, whose portrayal of a reluctantly gay cowboy is exceptional.

Heath's cowboy spends most of the movie grappling between his inner conflict: a gay relationship in a time and place where such a thing could get him killed, versus his expected role as a heterosexual father and husband. It is Heath's ability to bring such a sophisticated character to life that makes this movie bearable. The plot itself is somewhat lacking, but the acting brings the movie alive.

To be honest, any movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal sets off an alarm with me even before I see it. But he's passable as Heath's love interest here. He doesn't completely ruin the movie, which is about as much as I'd ask for him. What exactly Anne Hathaway is doing in this film is beyond me; this is the first adult movie I recall her in.

I like to think of myself as open-minded, but I must admit that Brokeback Mountain took some getting used to. There are graphic scenes in the movie unlike anything you've ever seen outside of gay porno. Not that I watch gay porno. But be ready for it. Although it's a bit uncomfortable, the gay love scenes shouldn't deter you from the movie; in fact, these scenes are part of the big reason for seeing Brokeback Mountain: learning tolerance. If the thought of watching two men have sex makes you so uncomfortable that you want to avoid this movie, then you need to see it more than I did.

The beauty of Brokeback Mountain is that lets us see gay love with all of the strings attached. It helps us relate to something that most of us find uncomfortable, even in today's open-minded society. And it does so without pity or apology; it's a tale of forbidden love, and the fact that it's gay forbidden love doesn't seem forced.

The only major failing of the movie is that it's quite slow and uneventful. It could be argued that this makes it more believable - after all, it's supposed to tell a story of two average guys who fall in love with each other - but a little more drama would have been appreciated.

I highly recommend you see this movie. I recommend you take your kids, if you have them. I recommend you take your parents. It's almost 2006. By now, we should be able to shelve our fears of homosexuality and see movies like Brokeback Mountain.