Brokeback Mountain
Jan. 27th, 2006 10:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rsadelleBrokeback Mountain starts with a lot of long shots of countryside, Ennis leaning against a trailer, and more countryside. And then there's more countryside. And then there's countryside covered with sheep, which, from above, look a little like maggots or some kind of bacteria on a slide. At this point, I thought, "If this were on DVD, I would be fastforwarding to the kissing," and, "I don't know if I can stand two hours of this," and, "This has the same sparseness problem the book did."
Thankfully for my sanity, though, the movie does pick up. The initial sex scene - sans kissing - is surprisingly graphic. Not porn movie graphic, but fairly graphic for a Hollywood movie. The second time, they kiss, and the way it's shot is incredibly beautiful.
I was not overly impressed with Jake Gyllenhaal. I last saw him in Jarhead, and I saw him doing some of the same things with his face in Brokeback Mountain that he did in Jarhead.
Heath Ledger, on the other hand, was absolutely amazing. I've never seen him in anything serious, so just to see that he could do something other than comedy was awesome. He managed to do this role without looking like himself, which you rarely see actors pull off. Renée Zellweger was so good in Chicago because she finally stopped puffing out her cheeks; Heath Ledger is so good in Brokeback Mountain because he manages to puff out his jowls and hold the look. And he ages, in a way Jake's Jack never seems to. Jack is very glib all the way through, but Heath's Ennis changes, ages, gets wrinkles. (Extra credit is due to the makeup department.) Consider that the last movie I saw Heath Ledger in was Casanova, where I also thought he did a fantastic job. Those are two extremely different roles, and he pulled them both off magnificently.
I knew Michelle Williams was in it, and I liked her, as always. I like that she's gone from her fairly standard semi-bad girl role on Dawson's Creek to real adult roles.
I did not know Linda Cardellini was in it, and I thought she did an okay job, but she was very bland, and the most annoying moment in the movie, the moment that jarred me completely out of the story, was when Ennis describes her as "a waitress, wants to go to nursing school." While it's possible that that's from the book (I read it so long ago that I have no recollection), it smacked of the kind of Hollywood self-reference that was completely out of place in this movie.
I also did not know how funny it was going to be. Everyone seems to be taking this movie so seriously, but it has some honest moments of real comedy.
I did not like the ending. If they'd ended with Ennis's truck driving across the landscape, it would have been a nice circle back around to the beginning, and I really thought the movie was ending there. The bit with Junior seemed tacked on and unnecessary.
And now a serious point: Sometime before the movie came out, my mom said she'd read something about how the question about the movie is this: Are they gay or are they just two people who fell in love? And, okay, I can see how you could debate that about Ennis. But anyone who saw the movie and didn't realize that Jack is gay, gay, gay saw a very different movie from the one I saw.
And a less serious point: Before I saw the movie, I had to go through a small bit of adjustment because the rumor, back in the day, was that Matt and Ben were going to play Jack and Ennis. Having seen the movie, I think it's a damn good thing they didn't. Matt might be able to pull it off, but there's no way Ben could.
Thankfully for my sanity, though, the movie does pick up. The initial sex scene - sans kissing - is surprisingly graphic. Not porn movie graphic, but fairly graphic for a Hollywood movie. The second time, they kiss, and the way it's shot is incredibly beautiful.
I was not overly impressed with Jake Gyllenhaal. I last saw him in Jarhead, and I saw him doing some of the same things with his face in Brokeback Mountain that he did in Jarhead.
Heath Ledger, on the other hand, was absolutely amazing. I've never seen him in anything serious, so just to see that he could do something other than comedy was awesome. He managed to do this role without looking like himself, which you rarely see actors pull off. Renée Zellweger was so good in Chicago because she finally stopped puffing out her cheeks; Heath Ledger is so good in Brokeback Mountain because he manages to puff out his jowls and hold the look. And he ages, in a way Jake's Jack never seems to. Jack is very glib all the way through, but Heath's Ennis changes, ages, gets wrinkles. (Extra credit is due to the makeup department.) Consider that the last movie I saw Heath Ledger in was Casanova, where I also thought he did a fantastic job. Those are two extremely different roles, and he pulled them both off magnificently.
I knew Michelle Williams was in it, and I liked her, as always. I like that she's gone from her fairly standard semi-bad girl role on Dawson's Creek to real adult roles.
I did not know Linda Cardellini was in it, and I thought she did an okay job, but she was very bland, and the most annoying moment in the movie, the moment that jarred me completely out of the story, was when Ennis describes her as "a waitress, wants to go to nursing school." While it's possible that that's from the book (I read it so long ago that I have no recollection), it smacked of the kind of Hollywood self-reference that was completely out of place in this movie.
I also did not know how funny it was going to be. Everyone seems to be taking this movie so seriously, but it has some honest moments of real comedy.
I did not like the ending. If they'd ended with Ennis's truck driving across the landscape, it would have been a nice circle back around to the beginning, and I really thought the movie was ending there. The bit with Junior seemed tacked on and unnecessary.
And now a serious point: Sometime before the movie came out, my mom said she'd read something about how the question about the movie is this: Are they gay or are they just two people who fell in love? And, okay, I can see how you could debate that about Ennis. But anyone who saw the movie and didn't realize that Jack is gay, gay, gay saw a very different movie from the one I saw.
And a less serious point: Before I saw the movie, I had to go through a small bit of adjustment because the rumor, back in the day, was that Matt and Ben were going to play Jack and Ennis. Having seen the movie, I think it's a damn good thing they didn't. Matt might be able to pull it off, but there's no way Ben could.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-08 11:22 pm (UTC)oh when, oh when will she post?
How will I not do my work by reading my friends e-mail if you don't post?
I beg because I care