HE is in LOVE with HIM. Review on Brokeback Mountain Movie

After I came to know that it is a serious contender to win the Best film Oscar, I was damn curious to watch “Brokeback Mountain”. But I was little hesitant as it was said to be a movie about G.a.y cowboys. I had some embarrassing experience in real life once by one such G.a.y who sat next to me when I was traveling in a bus. There are few more such incidents that happened to my friends made me to hate this kind of men and hence I stayed away from this movie for a while. But again the same theme grabbed my attention as it was also unanimously called as an epic love story by media. I was curious to know how was it possible to build a great love story between two men. And now I know, it is indeed possible if a movie can handle this issue as sensitive as Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain”. The controversial theme and the way it is conceived in an acceptable way on screen have blown me away.

The love attains its greatness only when it fails. According to me ‘Titanic’, “King Kong’, Guna (Tamil) are some of the greatest love stories that I have seen in life. And now I can add ‘Brokeback Mountain’ also to the list. In all these movies, the obvious impossibility of lovers getting together makes their love more sensitive, divine and eternal. It easily earns the sympathy of the audience, when they know that they are obviously going to part away. Jack Twist living with Ennis Del Mar is as impossible as King Kong trying to have Ann Darrow with it all the time. These two love stories break the convention of love that only a man and woman should fall in love and live together.

“Brokeback Mountain” gives a new definition to love. Love is not that happens between two opposite sex. It not two opposite poles attracting each other, it is two opposite souls attracting each other. Accidentally, the two souls are males by physical nature in this movie. Jack Twist is an extrovert, bold, freak, and an optimistic whereas Ennis Del mar is introverted who speaks less and keeps all his emotions within himself. When these two characters meet, they slowly discover an unusual emotion that lasts forever.

Jack seriously tries to lead an isolated life with Ennis but Ennis due to his family commitments and also due to his fear of others knowing about their secret relationship, just lives his life for the sake of the society. Again their approach to their relationship is extremely different. Though Jack is the one who tries all possible ways for their life together, there are many instances where we are let to know how deeply Ennis loves Jack. For instance, the ever-dull face of Ennis lightens up when he receives a post card from Jack after four years since their first meet. And when they meet, the ever-afraid Ennis is the first one to drag, hug and kiss Jack in an open space with so much passion and love that only who is in love can understand. For an analogy, this scene is as or infact more effective, sensitive and beautiful than Jack hugging and kissing Rose after Rose jumps back to the Titanic to be with him till the end. Each and every scene and each and every conversation in the movie are important as it spans through 20 years of their life. It neatly tells what just is necessary to be told about this g.a.y couple. The climax is as emotionally moving as it could get. The final visit of Ennis to Jack’s room and his findings leaves lot of unanswered questions and unquestionable answers in our mind. Here is a love story that neither fails nor succeeds but lives.

There are lot of scenes and instances in the movie that proves that this is not just a love to quench the carnal thirst. It is much more than that. Yes of course they start with physical union but slowly and steadily their love along with them attains maturity. There is no much of love making scenes between the two guys except for the first mating scene, and this makes their love look more mature, soulful and believable. If it were only for fulfilling their carnal desire, they always have their own wives, a woman who could give a much better physical pleasure than a man. After a point, it is not just physical mating but physical meeting, sharing and one just being in the presence and embrace of the other that becomes more important. At times I wonder what could possibly have made such a think bondage between these two guys. And as always, reason of love cannot be expressed, it can only be felt.

In one of the scenes, when Jack Twist insists to go to Mexico, Ennis suspects Jack for going to a male prostitute for which Mexico is famous and warns him that if he goes in search of other man, he would kill him. This clearly shows how possessive Ennis is on Jack like any other ordinary couple in real life. It is because of this one for one relationship, their love story gets an epic status. Otherwise, commonly g.a.ys are known to be those who bed with anybody just for s.e.x. Also Jack and Ennis never they loose their manliness. Infact, they get into a formal marriage and raise children like any other ordinary man. This further increases the admiration over their relationship.

If not for director Ang Lee’s sensitive direction and a gripping screenplay, a theme like this would have become just another g.a.y movie. Ang Lee truly deserves his Oscar for direction. The two characters of that of Jack and Ennis are so perfectly etched out. Ang Lee has drawn best possible performances from the two lead actors Heath Ledger (Ennis) and Jack Gyllenhaal (Jack) and even from all others cast. Cinematography is stunning. The camera has captured the true beauty of vast landscapes, mountains and plains of Wyoming. Each and every frame is picture perfect. More than the beauty of the sceneries, it is the tight close-up scenes where the cinematography scores. The shots and angles take us into the psyche of the two characters and make us clearly understand their emotions.

There is always two kind of Background Score, one that is good and one that is apt. In this movie, I would say the background score is apt. There are still discussions are going on as how a 15 minute score won the Oscar for best original score over great scores of John Williams and James Newton Howard. Background score is not just scoring music. For some movies and moments, silence can be the best music to convey the emotions. So in this case, composer has let the emotion in the visual to speak for it. He has aptly used Guitar and Harmonica all through the movie just to give the apt sound of the place and period in which the movie is set in.

All said and done, I don't really know whether this kind of relationships exists in real life but one needs to have an open mind to accept this kind of movie. If you really have one, this movie is sure a treat to watch but beware that it will take at least a day or two to come out of its after effects.