Brokeback Mountain

That Brokeback Mountain is an important film is beyond question. Having shattered the taboo of examining many aspects of homosexuality, those who made this work possible can be very proud. But just because it takes great and courageous moral and public policy positions, we must move to the next question, is it a great movie? Unfortunately for me, the answer is no.

The period movie was wonderful in depicting the culturally imposed deceptions that were encouraged upon gays in that time (1963). Many felt compelled to reject or hide their desires creating obvious tragedies as they came to grips with their sexuality. Women (and men) entered into what they perceived to be heterosexual liaisons and marriages with gays who were pretending – if only to themselves - that they might be able to reject their desires over time. The trail of broken lives of all parties was extremely well depicted.

But willing suspension of disbelief is my single most important criterion for excellence in films, and on several points Brokeback gave me problems. I found it difficult to believe that two grown men whom we come to know to have homosexual tendencies were unaware of these feelings until they were grown and thrown together over a very long slow summer of introduction. In contrast, there was no difficulty in speeding up the action in the heterosexual scenes, but the opening on the mountain seemed to take forever.

Second, no matter what the sexual orientation of those who cheat outside of their committed relationships, many are discovered with obviously devastating results. So it was in this film. But the sad and tawdry way that Ennis Del Mar is initially discovered by his wife strained credibility. I found it difficult to believe that the two lovers could not restrain themselves from groping and grinding in broad daylight in what turned out to be full view of the Mrs.

Even more difficult for me was the scene in which Ennis was finally confronted by his wife. While her outrage was palpable and both actors were extraordinary that she waited until long after the divorce to explode at him was less than convincing.

I enjoyed the film and found it very moving. That it broke much ground should be applauded. The performances were truly outstanding, and the cinematography and scenery were wonderful. The flaws I described were in the story itself. It is a film for mature audiences of any sexual orientation, and I recommend it. But it did not cross the line from craft to art for me.

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Wild Bill