BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

stars jake gyllenhaal, heath ledger, michelle williams, anne hathaway
3.9/5

after hearing rave reviews and unprecendented "5/5's" i thought i should go and see it. if you've been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, the film focusses on two cowboys who end up falling in love one summer while shephearding sheep on brokeback mountain.

they realise their relationship can't go beyond their time on the mountain, and over the next four years go on to marry their wives and have kids. upon their reunion however, things start to get complicated.

while this film is being simplistically described as the "movie about the gay cowboys", it is much more than that. sure the lead characters are gay, or at least, in love with members of the same sex, but the film looks at what its like to want something to happen you know will never happen, or simply realising that putting your head before your heart can really fuck things up.

i don't know if the performances by both ledger or gyllenhaal deserved the best actor award at any ceremony, but regarless they execute their respective roles superbly. i huge kudos goes to williams for her performance as ennis' wife, living with the knowledge that her husband and jack "don't go up there to fish". plus, she looks a hell of a lot better than she did in dawson's creek.

based on a short story, i didn't know the ending and i was genuinely suprised/shocked when it came around. i left the cinema thinking that the film was overrated but still good, but i found that the lingering sadness of the closing scenes stuck with me. and as ang lee says, "sadness lasts longer than happiness. it lingers, and that's what makes it profound."

and he sure is right.

-LOki