I'm actually sort of unsure that I'll be able to write about Brokeback again right now. Now that I've ungreased the wheels with my uncontrollable sobbing fits, thinking too much about the movie might make me break down again. It''s already happened a couple times this morning - thinking back on specific moments just kicks off the waterworks.
The first time I saw the film (reviewed here) I was just sort of in awe of it. In awe of what was being accomplished, and in awe of the fact that I was finally sitting there and watching come to life the scenes I'd imagined for so long.
Getting all of that out of the way, and knowing what to expect, this second viewing just hit me like a ton of bricks. The unbelievable weight of sadness that the film captures. How it makes you sorrowful for every person ever forced to live in the closet and twist the life right out of all they hold dear. How many loves and dreams were shattered, CONTINUE TO BE shattered, by our society's imposing of false morality onto what is, as the tagline goes, a force of nature. NATURE, not nurture, fellas.
Getting all of that out of the way, and knowing what to expect, this second viewing just hit me like a ton of bricks. The unbelievable weight of sadness that the film captures. How it makes you sorrowful for every person ever forced to live in the closet and twist the life right out of all they hold dear. How many loves and dreams were shattered, CONTINUE TO BE shattered, by our society's imposing of false morality onto what is, as the tagline goes, a force of nature. NATURE, not nurture, fellas.
I flip back and forth between which character, Jack or Ennis, breaks my heart more... in the end, it's really impossible to choose. Jack (Jake's character) is desperate for Ennis (Heath's character) to express what he knows is there, buried beneath the mumbling surface. The scene that really gets me is when Jack finds out Ennis' marriage has finally ended in divorce, and he races to be with Ennis, ecstatic with the promise of they can finally be together, can fulfill his long, desperate claim for the two of them to get a ranch together... only, of course, to be confronted with Ennis' unwillingness to step out of his terror of being who he is. Jake Gyllenhaal's reaction, as his smile slowly crumbles, and his drive back where he busts into tears... well, ya see, this is where I can't start talking about the film right now, or I'm going to be a wreck here at my desk.
But Heath Ledger... I had no idea he had this sort of performance in him, and he is a fucking powerhouse here. The moments when he allows the character's exterior to crack... there's a scene early on when Jack and Ennis are just sitting around chatting, and the smile on Ledger's face is like a bullet shooting off the screen, you realize you've not seen him smile like that at all, and the happiness is so pure and innocent and real, thhat everything else is just all the more heartbreaking in the end. And when he tears up... forget about it.
The women in the film are all astonishing. Michelle Williams has the bigger part and works wonders with standing in for every sad woman who realizes their life is a sham, but I just keep coming back to Anne Hathaway's performance, especially in that final scene on the telephone - the levels of character she shows us with so little screen-time is incredible. From everything involved in creating her character of Lureen, from the ever-blonder hair-do's to the tobacco stains on her teeth to the little squeak that comes through on her voice in that phone conversation... she's remarkable.
But Heath Ledger... I had no idea he had this sort of performance in him, and he is a fucking powerhouse here. The moments when he allows the character's exterior to crack... there's a scene early on when Jack and Ennis are just sitting around chatting, and the smile on Ledger's face is like a bullet shooting off the screen, you realize you've not seen him smile like that at all, and the happiness is so pure and innocent and real, thhat everything else is just all the more heartbreaking in the end. And when he tears up... forget about it.
The women in the film are all astonishing. Michelle Williams has the bigger part and works wonders with standing in for every sad woman who realizes their life is a sham, but I just keep coming back to Anne Hathaway's performance, especially in that final scene on the telephone - the levels of character she shows us with so little screen-time is incredible. From everything involved in creating her character of Lureen, from the ever-blonder hair-do's to the tobacco stains on her teeth to the little squeak that comes through on her voice in that phone conversation... she's remarkable.
Alright, that's all I'm saying. Either I''m going to start sobbing again or I'm going to give away too much of the film for those who haven't seen it. Let me just say, though, that every single moment of this film rings true to me. Every glance, every shot, every bit of dialogue... every goddamned thing is so fucking sad and note-perfect and true. This is beyond the best film of the year, this is one of the finest films I have ever seen.
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