Brokeback Mountain DVD Review

"BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN" reviews

DVD

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-04-21 15:32:19

Provider

DVD Review

Based on Annie Proulx's short story, this compelling study of a gay relationship between two modern day cowboys is a powerful and deeply moving movie from director Ang Lee, who deservedly received an Oscar.

Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar are a young, budding rodeo rider and a ranch hand for hire in the 1960s. Finding work over winter at a Wyoming sheep ranch they forge a lifelong bond. Initially, going their separate ways to build very different lives with different wives the two remain tied by their deep, but hidden and forbidden, love for each other. Later in life, and over the many years that follow, they re-ignite their relationship by regularly escaping to the wilderness together under the premise of hunting and fishing trips; seeking moments of solace from their impossible situation in each others close company.

This difficult plot - that still engenders resistance, frowns and denial in certain parts of small town USA - is tenderly executed. the performances of Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as the two men unable to fully accept or publicly show their feelings for each other due to the pressures of their environment are outstanding. Ledger's strong, earthy performance as Ennis deserves particular praise. The prescient pain and turmoil of his character is writ large across every scene he appears in. Set against the vast landscapes and vistas the story inhabits, Ang Lee has managed to capture not only their love, pain and strain; but also the broader spirit of struggle in modern day America for the working man. In able support, Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway are the wives living first unaware, then in distress and denial of the depth of their husbands' relationship.

With no positive resolution visible for the characters, it is a testament to Ang Lee's continuingly deft touch and film-making talent that you'll leave the cinema filled with warmth and optimism.

Additional features include; Directing From The Heart: Ang Lee featurette, From Script To Screen interviews with writers Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana, Sharing The Story: The Making Of Brokeback Mountain featurette, On Being A Cowboy featurette.