Critique: Brokeback Mountain

Ellis and Jack both work on this mountain and fall in love. The film follows their marriages to women as they continue trying to be in each other’s lives. They meet up one or twice a year, somehow keeping their relationship alive.

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 

When Ellis was nine, there was a homophobic death near his home. This clearly traumatised Ellis so no wonder he’s reluctant to shack up with Jack.

Later we’re told Jack died in an accident but we see a flashback of Jack being killed in a homophobic attack. The parallels with Ellis’ trauma were really potent.

Ellis gets mad with his wife Alma when she doesn’t want to get pregnant, maybe because it’s his way of proving he’s not gay, it’s his way of protecting himself. Ellis is also mad at Alma when she reveals she knows about him and Jack because this gives Alma the power to ruin Ellis’ life. This scares Ellis. No wonder he resists Jack’s attempts at being together on a permanent basis.

Are they bi? Are they using their wives as their beards? Some people suggest Jack is bi, leaning more towards being gay and that Ellis is bi, leaning more towards being straight. But due to Ellis’ humour, he knows what happens to cohabiting gays (i.e. death) so he never would live with Jack. He’s frightened for himself and for Jack. So using his unwillingness to shack up as evidence that Ellis is more straight than gay is redundant.

 

Ellis accepting himself as gay must have been awful considering his trauma but he sticks with it anyway.

            Ellis was portrayed as a strong, not-wearing-his-heart-on-his-sleeve character. But we see him breakdown after they leave the mountain when Jack drives away. Ellis is the one who presses a kiss into the lips of the visiting Jack. So we know that Ellis wants Jack.

He had plenty of opportunities to give up but he doesn’t. The first night the pair had sex, a sheep got killed by a coyote. I thought this would push Ellis into no more fooling around. I’m glad it didn’t.

Then there’s the fact Ellis won’t get married again because he’s in love with Jack. This was never stated but the implication seems clear to me. So even though Ellis won’t live with Jack, he was still clearly committed to their relationship.

 

There were a few problems.          

            This a gay love story yet we only see one gay sex scene. But then we get three male-female sex scenes! What’s up with that ratio.

            Ellis and Jack have a massive argument. Ellis threatens Jack but all that info would incriminate Ellis as well. Such a fool. Especially as being exposed as gay is his biggest fear in life.

Ellis was a mumbler. This would have been fine if he wasn’t the main character. But as main characters speak the most, they should really be clear speakers (unless there is a specific reason for them not to be). I could only understand Ellis when I had the subtitles on: luckily I don’t mind this but others do. If you can’t understand the main character, you can’t really understand the plot.

Jack and Ellis’ boss wouldn’t give Jack work again because he figured out Jack and Ellis was shagging. I don’t believe that. The only evidence he had was watching them topless wrestle and chase each other. They were both young so chasing and wrestling are normal activities. When fit and healthy men are hot or working hard, it’s common to take their tops off. So neither of the boss’ clues were actually clues.

 

There are other things of note.

When Ellis visits Jack’s parents, they tell him that Brokeback Mountain was Jack’s favourite place. Also, they said Jack thought he’d one day run the farm with Ellis. Considering this happened after Ellis and Jack’s big fight, this must have been reassuring for Ellis. But then Jack’s dad said Jack wanted a different man with him recently. This must have hurt Ellis. Was this done out of spite? Because he knew Ellis hurt Jack? Because he couldn’t punish Jack for being gay but he could punish Ellis for it instead?

Jack was angry in the argument, saying he can’t get by on ‘one or two fucks a year’. This is why he says he goes to Mexico. But we then see him drive to Mexico after his argument with Ellis in the same clothes and a face of thunder: he’s clearly going to Mexico on this occasion because he is pissed. It’s spiteful but so was the argument.

Jack eventually stands up to his father-in-law over his parenting style. Considering how his father-in-law had been treating him, this would good to see. It even made his wife smile! That could have easily induced an argument between the couple.

The last time we see Ellis and Jack together, Jack says he’s having an affair with a woman. Seeing as the lady’s husband made eyes and clear sexual advances to Jack, I think Jack probably had the affair with the husband. Jack seems so committed to him and Ellis but then does things like this!

When Ellis visits Jack’s parents, he notices the shirt he lost on Brokeback Mountain was in Jack’s childhood wardrobe. The film’s final shot was of Ellis hugging this shirt. That was so moving.

 

For a film to show how gay people live under the radar is really powerful, especially considering when this film was made.

It could have received a lot of industry pushbacks but it came forth anyway. That’s an amazing achievement. But this ground-breaking business aside, the plot, dialogue and characterisations were all executed really well.

At school, people described it as a forbidden film full of sex but ‘Brokeback Mountain’ had a meaning far deeper, a meaning far more important.

Not only is it sad that the pair never got to live together but, even more so, they didn’t get to reconcile before Jack was murdered.