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*Although Ang Lee landed an Academy Award for directing this tortoise-paced, chick flick, it is simply unfolds too slowly, some breathtaking, Wyoming, “Big Sky” panorama not withstanding. Brokeback simply takes too long to spin its tale of forbidden love between what looks like the Marlboro Man and one of the Village People.
Loosely-based on the E. Annie Proulx short story of the same name, the film stars Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar and Jake Gyllenhaal as his secret lover, Jack Twist. Their 20+ year affair starts in the Sixties, when the two were hired to guard a herd of sheep, 24/7, on a picturesque hillside far from civilization.
Their typically macho exchanges and gruff exteriors eventually melt the night the pair finally decides to share a tent. Rough sex ends with tender kanoodling, though both have second thoughts the morning after. “This is a one-shot thing we got going on here,” Ennis warns. “You know I ain’t queer.” “Me either,” Jack responds.
Yet, despite the distance that their subsequent marriages and the arrival of children would bring, they proceed to embark on one of the most passionate and enduring relationships in screen history. Hiding their true sexual preferences, the gay cowpokes still find a way to make time for illicit liaisons, mostly back where it all began up on Brokeback Mountain. Meanwhile, the movie fails to address adequately the question of whether such a selfish indulgence might ruin the lives of their wives and kids. As a consequence, its unapologetically gay agenda aggressively implores us to celebrate homosexuality for homosexuality’s sake.
A bittersweet, wistful Western about what might have been. Picture “The Misfits” updated as a gender-bending melodrama.
Fair (1 star)
Rating: R for expletives, violence, nudity and graphic sexuality.
Running time: 134 minutes
Studi Universal Studios Home Video
DVD Extras: Interview with the scriptwriters, Ang Lee on directing from the heat, and “The Making of” and “On Being a Cowboy” featurettes.