The point is, you take away any hint of unnatural acts, and what was left was one emotionally unavailable guy who mumbled all the time, who married a woman who mumbled most of the time (and I'm guessing they had little worth saying anyway), another guy with puppy dog eyes and little else going for him, and a host of other small town types with lowered expectations. The only sympathetic character in the movie was the daughter of the brown-haired guy, who at least aspired to a normal life, if one with the requisite lowered expectations. And the smartest character in the movie was a jerk of a ranch boss suitably played by Randy Quaid.
Other than that, the scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and brought back some great memories my last visit to the great Northwest. Yes, I enjoyed that part of it, and could imagine myself seeing it again in person, and wondering how anyone could live in the midst of it and not be amazed every day. (Photo: The author and son at the foot of Burroughs Mountain, nowhere near Brokeback Mountain, but quite near Mount Rainier, August 2003. Used with full and unqualified permission.) Why did I watch it, then? Just to see what the fuss was all about. Now I can finally tell you: absolutely nothing. So a bunch of gay guys feel better about themselves, and a stupid excuse for a movie was all it took.I need a latte.
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2 comments:
LOL, very nice review. I like the scenery too. Carol
Actually there was one truly moral moment. It's been awhile, so I don't remember the dialogue, but the character played by Jake G. was complaining about how he had to go to Mexico for his fun, since he only got to see the Heath Ledger character once a year, and then I remember this part where Heath, in a smoldering rage, said something like, "You MADE me this way...." or "YOU did this tome..."It was as if the veil were lifted and he understood that having been raped (ok, to me it started as a rape, and then Heath got into it, against his will at first), the first taste of sin slowly enslaved him and so he became what he did from that moment. To me it was very Aristotelian/Aquinian. I don't see how all the gay reviewers ignored that scene. All the bad things that happened to him, including the destruction of his marriage, stemmed from that first act of sin. I thought it was a heartbreaking scene....and it made the film a far different film than if you just takeit at face value. It was the very picture of the descent into sin.
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