Brokeback Mountain

Breathe a sigh of
relief that this exquisite gay love story has finally
made it to the big screen—and it’s actually
good. Exceptional, even. The legendary Larry McMurtry
and his writing partner Diana Ossana , working from
Annie Proulx’s story, have crafted a haunting and
practically perfect romance, and director Ang Lee
deftly captures both the bitter and the sweet.

In 1963, Ennis
Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal) spend the
summer together tending sheep on Wyoming’s Brokeback
Mountain. And...things happen. (Lest you worry that
the movie would wimp out on showing physical
affection—it doesn’t.) But what happens on
Brokeback Mountain stays on Brokeback Mountain.
That’s the idea, anyway: Both men marry and
have children. But they just can’t keep apart,
spending a series of “fishing trips”
together up in the mountains over the course of two
decades, rekindling a passion they can neither express nor
ignore. “If you can’t fix it,
you’ve got to stand it,” Ennis tells Jack.

Ledger, adopting
a soft-spoken twang reminiscent of Kris Kristofferson,
is nothing short of revelatory, considering how ill-used
he’s been in so many other films. Gyllenhaal
gets to play a lot of different notes, from triumphant
to swaggering to downcast, and he hits them all perfectly.
As the wives, Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway also
nail their characters. Hathaway’s portrayal of
a 1970s Texan with money made me howl with
recognition.

Brokeback isn’t just one of 2005’s best
films—it represents a new high-water mark for
Hollywood’s handling of gay stories. Whether or
not multiplex audiences can handle Ledger and
Gyllenhaal kissing, cinematic history is nonetheless
unfolding before us.