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Based on the short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author E.
Annie Proulx, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is the tragic and moving story of
two cowboys who unexpectedly fall in love while working together
one summer in 1963. When the film begins, rodeo cowboy Jack Twist
(Jake Gyllenhaal) and ranch-hand Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) are
strangers meeting for the first time. As the more outgoing one, it
is Jack who must initiate a friendship with Ennis, a man so
tight-lipped and self-consciously macho he refuses all facial
expression. From this strained beginning, Jack and Ennis gradually
begin to bond on cold, lonely nights over a fire in the mountains
of Signal, Wyoming. One particularly chilly evening, Jack invites
Ennis into his tent, where a sudden awkward embrace sends their
relationship in a new direction. Though each man stubbornly defends
his heterosexuality, the spark between them cannot help but grow,
with that initial summer on Brokeback Mountain becoming their
reference point for happiness during the rest of their
lives.&&Spanning 20 years, the film moves at an
impressively slow pace that really captures the detailed and
unhurried style of Proulx's story. Seeing each other a few times a
year at best, Ennis and Jack spend the rest of their time
halfheartedly living up to society's expectations by marrying and
having kids. When the lovers do meet, there is a sense of love so
palpable and frustrating it often manifests itself in physical
violence. Gyllenhaal shines as the film's hopeful light, and Ledger
gives a powerful performance as the emotionally blocked Ennis.
Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee captures the natural beauty
of Wyoming and Texas with camerawork that, while beautiful, never
feels imposing. Gustavo Santaolalla's simple yet haunting score
helps to complete a beautiful portrait of wasted chances and
regret.

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