Dominatio Per Malum

Brokeback Mountain (2005) 7/10

Brokeback Mountain is one of those films that just speaks to you. Yes, its the much talked about “gay cowboy movie”, but to call it that is akin to saying that Schindler’s List was “just a Holocaust movie”, or that 2001: A Space Odyssey is “just a sci-fi movie”. Amidst the scenic backdrop of Brokeback Mountain lies an achingly beautiful story, easily the best romance story of 2005, done with the attention to the the little nuances of human nature that Ang Lee is so adept at.

At its heart lies a simple story of love lost, two hearts forced apart by their own fears. It is a simple tale, with hardly any Oscar-bait moments, and yet the sum of these little parts are startling. Its the little movements that are telling: the gaze averted, the awkward silence, the stolen kiss. Subtle, and yet it says so much.

First, i’d just say that i absolutely loved the musical score. It has that right mix of melancholy. And yes, the cinematography and the sights of Brokeback make for a truly visual treat. But it is the acting that soars. A solid ensemble performance, every role was pitch perfect, especially the supporting roles. Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams, as the wives of the two protagonists, make full use of their brief screen time. Their relationships with the men is telling in what it shows and what it does not show. One particularly memorable scene has Anne Hathaway Michelle Williams calling on Heath Ledger’s bluff. There is this sense of controlled anguish, juxtaposed with Ledger’s angry denial that makes the scene quietly explosive. Or another scene: Anne Hathaway Michelle Williams at the window, catching sight of the clandestine liasions of Gyllenhaal and Ledger, but averts her gaze and just keeps mum about it. Ang Lee could have chosen to let the character break into hysterics, as many lesser directors may be tempted to do, but he smartly avoids taking the easy way out and lets the tension speak for itself.

And i would be remiss if i did not mention the performances of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. We can probably see shades of ourselves in their characterization. Ledger’s reticence as a foil to Gyllenhaal’s exuberance, as well as that undercurrent of yearning that they perfectly capture. Both of them put in a fine performance, but i’d say the single best moment in the film for me was when Ledger finds that bloodied shirt and keeps it as a memento. To Ledger, it was a shirt; to the rest of us, it could be any trinket that we keep, perhaps to mourn a love lost, or a memory cherished. The feeling that they are living a false life, a parody of what they could have been is something that resonates as a theme in the whole movie. And that speaks out to the audience, who can relate to the feeling of conforming, of not doing things because they are afraid of disapproval. And that, precisely, is why Brokeback Mountain is such a good movie.

But, it is not a great movie. In a sense, Brokeback Mountain is a victim of its own hype. Those who watch it expecting some kind of carthartic experience, or some powerful message will leave sorely disappointed. Ang Lee takes his time with the characterization, sculpting the nuances and as a result, the film isn’t exactly compelling in the conventional sense. The movie does plod at times, and sometimes i feel that his method of using a fade to black to end every scene to be quite annoying- it would have been more effective just to cut to the next scene. Generally, i felt the second half of the film to be more enjoyable that the beginning, which inevitably suffers because time is spent on exposition and setting the backdrop of the film, while the second half manages to explore the interpersonal dynamics of the characters. I suspect that many who watch it based on awards hype will simply be bored. This is not a film for everyone, not because it is a film on homosexuality, but because it is a bona fide arthouse film. Those who expect stuff to happen will be bored by the pacing of the movie. Watching such “slow” movies is an acquired taste: if you didn’t like Broken Flowers or Sideways, then you should probably just skip this.

Some have called Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee’s greatest film. I think they need to watch more Ang Lee films. I’d say that Brokeback Mountain is one of Ang Lee’s lesser films. Relatively, of course. Ang Lee’s bad day is many other director’s good day. As one of the most talented asian directors, Ang Lee has always had that knack of making characters tick. His films are character, rather than plot driven, and those not familiar with his style may find Brokeback Mountain lacking in the plot department. At the end of the day, the main reason that Brokeback mountain wasn’t as engaging to me was because it isn’t quite as good as similar films which have tackled the subject. Just as sci fi adventures will always be measured against Star Wars, and mob films will inevitably draw comparison to The Godfather, the best film that has tackled the issue of homosexuality remains Wong Kar Wai’s 1997 film Happy Together. If Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger were good in Brokeback Mountain, i’d have to say that Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung were awesome in Happy Together. And as a romance, as a film about unfulfiled love, i’d have to point to Wong Kar Wai’s In The Mood For Love as the film to watch.

In the end, Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain is a flawed masterpiece, a solid mediation on unfulfiled love and supressed desires. It has its moments of brilliance, but it is done in by its agnonisingly slow pace.