TotallyOz Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 Brokeback Mountain Some movies stand the test of time. Some movies get better with the passage of time. And some movies, if given enough time, end up looking much worse than when they first came out in theaters. I recently re-watched Brokeback Mountain and, sad to say, this film falls into the third category. It's understandable how this film seemed awesome when it came out. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal were two rising young Hollywood heartthrobs. For them to take these roles was truly daring career-wise. Ang Lee was an up-and-coming director, and for him to use this subject matter as one of his first English language films was exciting. Anne Hathaway was also on the way up. Plus, there was the shock value of a film pitched as a cowboy love story. The idea of taking the cowboy mythos and putting a queer spin on it was exhilarating. And so, we went into the theater and had a good time watching all this groundbreaking stuff which it was at the time. However, 2005 is not 2013. The gay community has made enough strides where the shock value of the material has worn off, and it's possible to look at the film with a clearer head. And, when looked at from today's perspective, it falls short in just about every way. The film itself is only an hour and 49 minutes long. Now, a three-and-a-half-hour film like The Deer Hunter can take its time with an intro. But for a shorter film, that just doesn't work. So, the fact that nothing happens other than sheep herding for the first 45 minutes of the film comes off as just padding. No character development happens here; there is nearly no dialogue. It's just an excuse for the cinematographer to shoot pretty vistas. Finally, of course, Gyllenhaal and Ledger fuck, in one of the most ridiculous gay sex scenes ever. I mean, really: Two dudes with bean juice on their chests just suddenly start to have anal sex, with no foreplay, no lube, not even a finger up the ass and there is supposedly no pain involved at all when Ledger shoves his non-lubed dick up Gyllenhaal's ass? Sure, Gyllenhaal looks like a girl, but I don't think he self-lubricates like one. Anyway, they get off the mountain about an hour into the film, which is a good thing because we finally see other characters, which means we get actual dialogue. (Why are these two characters only capable of speech when the plot absolutely requires it?) Then, it turns out that this is in fact not a gay love story at all. Both dudes are bisexual and get married. The enthusiasm they both demonstrate Heath when fucking Michelle Williams and Gyllenhaal when boning Anne Hathaway - is too extreme for them to be faking. They both like sticking their dicks into both men and women which is fine, but does not make them gay. Anyway, over the course of the next 15 years they cheat on their wives with each other on a regular basis. And Gyllenhaal is totally cheating on Ledger as well both with Mexican rent boys and other ranch hands. (Boy, were these two guys lucky to never pick up a single STD with all the unprotected sex they were having over the years. And boy, were their wives lucky.) Anyway, this goes on for a while, and they are so bad at being cheaters that pretty much everyone around them, from their wives to their parents to their children, know that they are boning each other and neither man seems to have any idea that everyone fucking knows. Take this gem of dialogue from after Heath gets divorced from his wife and is now boning a waitress: Waitress Talking To Heath Ledger's Daughter: Honey, can you help get your daddy to marry me? Heath Ledger's Daughter: My daddy ain't the marrying kind. Waitress: Why not? Daughter: He loves his friends too much. If you are pinging your 17-year-old daughter's gaydar in 1968, you are doing it wrong! Finally, Ang Lee realizes he's now shot enough footage to be close to a feature length film, so out of nowhere, Gyllenhaal dies. Ledger then goes to Gyllenhaal's parents' house, where they tell him that they knew their son was boning guys all along, and that Gyllenhaal had been doing so behind Heath's back since forever. Gyllenhaal's mom gives him one of his shirts, and it becomes his prized possession. Then Ledger's daughter announces she's getting married, Heath cries, and the movie ends. So, what we end up with is not a gay love story, but rather a story about two bisexual guys cheating on their wives, and their wives knowing and putting up with it for the most part. Neither guy is even particularly honest with the other one. All in all, it ends up being about two dishonest, not particularly intelligent men making choices that hurt both each other and the people around them. And we are supposed to find them sympathetic. Blargh! The thing is that I am glad this film was made. At the time, mainstream America needed a film that showed that dudes who bone dudes can look tough and macho (yes, I know a stretch in Gyllenhaal's case), and this movie was an important part of mainstreaming the gay community. But these days we can do better, and we have, with the wonderful and intelligent The Kids Are Alright. AdamSmith 1 Quote
Guest josephga Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 I didn't care for this movie. Other than his role as the Joker I didn't really like any of Heath Ledger's films Quote
Guest EXPAT Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 I loved this movie, especially Jake Gyllenhaal. Quote
TotallyOz Posted March 13, 2013 Author Posted March 13, 2013 I loved the movie when I first saw it as well. It was when I watched it again that I got lost a bit and my mind wandered. To me, a great movie makes you want to watch it again and again. (like the Godfather (40 times at least) BiBottomBoy 1 Quote
Guest josephga Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 I like watching the godfather over and over again too. also the color purple and the departed Quote
Members RA1 Posted March 13, 2013 Members Posted March 13, 2013 This latter day "review" makes me glad that I have never seen this but then I don't go to movies or watch them anyway. Best regards, RA1 Quote
BiBottomBoy Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 I think it's interesting to see how perceptions of artworks change over time. Quote
AdamSmith Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 You know, Oz's review sort of sums up a lot of Ang Lee's stuff. Seems strong on first viewing, but seems a lot thinner after a bit. Quote
BiBottomBoy Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 Yeah. This is why I didn't go watch "The Life Of CGI" AdamSmith 1 Quote
Guest josephga Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 The Departed is worth 4271 viewings. I love the departed. another movie I recently watched and liked allot is The town Quote
Guest zipperzone Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 I thought Brokeback was a very good but sad film. Two guys who IMO behaved the way they did because of the time & place. Had they met today in a sophisticated large city they probably would have had an entirely different life. I thought the gift of the shirt at the end was very touching. I actually cried. Quote
Guest josephga Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 I think i saw some place that was a photoshop Quote
