Brokeback Mountain Review

HIGHS

• One thing that makes Brokeback such a great film is the fact that it's a drama that isn't over-dramatic. The relationships that are presented are very raw and very real; the story never develops into smaltzy melodrama or degrades to the typical cliches we are so often fed. The characters involved are very honest and relatable, at the very least, on a basic human level.
• It's so nice to see a film portray gay characters as something other than Jack on Will & Grace.
• Brokeback attempts to show people that love is love, and the feelings that a person develops for another can't simply be turned off because society thinks they should be. It's an important message that not everyone is getting.
• Heath Ledger blew me away in this movie. I never thought I'd say that about 'the dude from A Knight's Tale' but he's gone and done it here. With a number of box office flops under his belt he really didn't have much to lose in taking this role. In my opinion he came through with a damn fine performance worthy of an Oscar nomination, if not a win.
• It was refreshing to see the theatre filled with a diverse group of movie-goers. There were far more men in attendance than I was expecting and also a wide range of ages present. I have to think the scene would have been much different ten or fifteen years ago. That's assuming the film would have even been released at all. As hard as he tries, I guess Bush can't hold back all forms of progress.
• Even if you aren't down with the story, Brokeback is worth seeing simply for the breathtaking locations in which it was filmed.

LOWS

• The amount of people who will resist seeing Brokeback Mountain because of their personal narrowminded viewpoints. I don't like football but I still watched Rudy, ya jerks.

Torrey's Opinion:
5- Strongly Recommended
4- Recommended
3- A Mixed Bag
2- Sub-par
1- Don't Bother

Random related fact: During Brokeback's first weekend of release (playing in only five US theatres), the film set a record for the highest per-screen gross of any non-animated movie in history.

Also, Schnepf provided me with the link to a very humorous video clip: Brokeback To The Future (the clip is spoiler-free as it is based on the film's trailer)