Well, You Said You Wanted Excitement

I hope this review doesn't get me some 'gay' in my mailbox:

Brokeback Mountain
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal
Rated: R (For sexuality, nudity, language and some violence)

Every year the world gets at least one controversial film that is hailed by critics, and usually wins a lot of awards. "Brokeback Moutain" has been labled as "the gay cowboy movie," which sounds about right to me. It may be me, but I'm more likely to side with the hecklers in this case then with the critics. When "Fahrenheit 9/11" came out the critics hailed it as a "revolutionary film," one that apparently was so good that it was said that "it [didn't] matter whether you were left or right, ["Fahrenheit 9/11"] is a great film." Of course, we all know these statements to be complete lies barely two years later.

But maybe the critics are right in this case. Maybe "Brokeback Moutain" IS a movie that can change the way we think about gay lovers?! I went into the movie with an open mind, ready to have my beliefs challenged. Strangely enough, I can sum up what "Brokeback Moutain" is in brief, simple summery: "Brokeback Moutain" is a glorified affair. As you all know, "Brokeback Moutain" revolves around two sheep herders (Ennis and Jack) who get drunk, have sex, and (supposingly) fall in love. Then they get back to the real world, they both get married, they have kids, but they still remember the nights they shared on Brokeback Mountain.

Then one day, Ennis receives a letter from Jack, suggesting that they go back to Brokeback Moutain for another fling (although he doesn't say it like that per se). They both know that they can never be together, but they do make a choice to keep seeing each other at Brokeback Mountain every few months. Through the years Ennis and Jack spend continue with their real lives, with those few days a year they can see each other when they are in total bliss. All the while they hurt their wives, they neglect their kids to a certain extent, and they hurt friends.

Some people see this movie as a great tradgedy because these two men love each other but can't be together. I, on the other hand, saw two men who lusted for each other, and ended up being complete jerks who did nothing but cheat on their wives and have no problem with this. Ok, time for the sarcasm to end and it's time to get serious. Despite all the praise this film gets, despite all the things that are being said about this series, at the end of the day this is about two men having an affair and hurting the people they are married to. This fact seems to have went over almost everyone's head. The fact that these two characters are hurting their loved one's doesn't seem to matter much to the people praising this film.

I have to wonder, if the coupld had been a man and a woman, would all this deception and cheating be as overlooked as it is here? It's also hard to believe in the romance itself, seeing as how it was birthed from a night where the characters had one too many drinks, not because they actually fall in love. They just have a hard night of sex and before you know it they're a couple. Sorry, but I'm not convinced. Throughout this whole film there was only one believable character in the whole movie, and that character is the Michelle Williams character. When Williams character discovers that her husbend is cheating on her, we truly feel sorry for her as her marriage falls apart.

The scene where she finally confronts her husbend about his affair with another man, I almost started to cry for her, as she was outright lied to, and her life was, more or less, greatly damaged. For some reason, some of the people I saw the film with sided with Ennis during this scene, because the Williams character "didn't understand what Ennis was going through." I couldn't help but wonder what any of the other characters had to do to get sympathy. The boys boss (played by Randy Quade) has been said to be a biggot, when in reality he couldn't care less about the two boys sexuality, he's just mad that they let his sheep get eaten while they were keeping themselves busy.

I will admit that the acting is good, and the cinatography is beautiful, but I can't in all honesty recommend a movie where the main characters seem to okay with hurting people they care about, with very few consequences. I've never cared about movies that are about glorified affairs, and this one is no different.

Grade: D-

Currently Listening To: Celine Dion - A New Day Has Come