Reactions: Brokeback Mountain

I just watched the much-acclaimed Brokeback Mountain and my reaction is a bit mixed. But first, I loved the story. The setting—the time period, the community and the natural landscape—is entirely fresh, and the acting seamless and believable. But there are a few production issues that irk me. With the exception of Anne Hathaway, who is too young, the film is well-cast, but the portrayal of age is a struggle throughout the film. Heath Ledger’s character has a daughter who grows from a baby to a nineteen-year-old, but he barely ages at all. Only his on-point acting and a bit of pasty makeup show that he’s supposed to be a man of fifty years. It wasn’t convincing enough. Jake Gyllenhal has a mustache and a paunchy belly, which help. He aged the best out of all of them. But when she’s supposed to be 40 or so, Anne Hathaway looks like a 16-year-old dressed up in her momma’s clothes. I just kept noticing these things. It was distracting.

I loved the music in the movie. The bitter sweet harmony and discord of simple guitar chords was beautiful, and complimented Ang Lee’s graceful cinematography. It perfectly matched the tone of the story. In fact, it told the story.

But then another thing that seems unconvincing was the fact that the two fishing buddies never actually fish on their weeklong trips together. I get that it’s just an alibi, something to tell their wives. But they have all the gear, nets pole, etc., they are camping in the rural mountains and they just seem like the fishing type. Why don’t they fish? Not finding a note tied to his fishing pole is unrealistic. Men like that would fish, even if it isn’t the true purpose of their rendezvous.

Another question: why does Jack Twist’s father-in-law consider him an un-manly man? Sure, we know the father-in-law has reason to think so, but I never see Jack acting like a wimp, or effeminate or anything. He’s interested in the rodeo, he’s a good salesman and he stands up to the old man. Why does the old guy offer digs at the Thanksgiving table about wanting his grandson to grow up to be a real man, implying that Jack isn’t one?

However, I like the treatment of Jack’s death. The flashback scene of the beating offers just enough gore to be frighteningly violent, but it’s not overwhelming. It’s more a suggestion you want to ignore but can’t. You want to believe the wife’s story of how he died, but you know he was murdered by Daddy.

And speaking of Daddy, what about Jack’s father? Jack mentions he would never go back to his daddy’s ranch. And yet he went back there long enough o gush about Health Ledger’s character and the other bearded man he met. If his father was such an intolerable—and intolerant—man, why would Jack go back. And why would he ever mention anything about his boyfriends? Seems strange.

Alas, these are details. A few minor points of skepticism. If one must knit-pick to find problems, the work of art can’t be too flawed. The film was sad and great.