Brokeback Mountain

The movie Brokeback Mountain is a story of two characters and their unusual quest for love. Most love stories follow similar plots; however, this story is different for it is one between a man and a man. Both Heath Ledger, and Jake Gyllenhaal work hard to portray their characters in what I can imagine a very difficult way. Another character, Jack’s wife, Anne Hathaway plays a surprising role as well. As the two main characters struggle for their love over a period of about twenty years, you become fixated with their character, and the overall development of the plot, and what will become of them as they struggle for a normal life.

The book the Art of Film Watching says ” because we naturally respond to films most human ingredient, the actor’s contribution is extremely important.” (pg. 329) This movie has two very strong lead roles, played by very strong actors, who do a fabulous job at portraying their characters of rough, tough cowboys, who had a love for one another in a time and place where such a thing was unwelcomed, and looked frowned upon. Because of this fate, they were limited to seeing and being with one another and the sadness of their love story is strongly felt by the characters as an audience, and the viewer gains an understanding and empathetic feeling towards the characters as their love struggles to survive. In Jay Antani’s review he agrees upon their performances as he states: “Ledger and Gyllenhaal deliver brave, creditable performances and each serves his character honestly: Gyllenhaal’s Jack is an open-hearted soul, apt to express his love and angst directly, and he alone can see through the armor of macho reticence that Ledger’s Ennis continually wears. Ennis, for his part, harbors a barely-controlled hostility towards the world, towards himself, and it’s scary to witness those moments when it is unleashed.”

The actors of this movie pull you in through features such as emotion, facial expressions, and this talent of portraying a character other than oneself can be difficult, especially in roles completely opposite of the true self. Both Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal pull together an amazing job of two homosexuals, even if in real life they are not. The books would recognize this as “ actors must have the ability to express these things (intelligence, imagination, sensitivity, and insight into human nature) convincingly through voice, body language, movements, gestures, or facial expressions, so the qualities seem true to the characters portrayed and to the situation in which the characters find themselves.” (pg. 320). Picturing myself in their roles as straight in real life and trying to have an intimate seen with a character of the same sex would be extremely difficult and frustrating for me I would imagine.

The film uses extras in both the rodeo scenes, the bar scene, as well as the 4th of July picnic scene. These extras add to the film as you get a sense of place. An example of this would be the bar where everyone is dressed in country getup, and interacting in the background to enhance the scene. You get a feeling of a country bar, in a small town, where everyone knows each other, and everyone is friendly. The supporting actors also enhance the film, as the wife’s of both lead characters illustrate their struggles as well. Anne Halthaway, Jake’s wife, does an amazing job at portraying her role as a Texan cowgirl. From her accent, to her clothing, to her strong character, you go from seeing her as a character in other movies or a person, to this wife of a cowboy raising a son in the Southern state of Texas.

As the love for the main characters develops over a period of twenty years in the course of the film, the characters grow older, and so do the supporting actors. The book describes two ways to show this trick of aging. One being using different characters from young to old and the other using makeup and props to physically make them younger/older. The main leads use facial hair to signify that they are older, and time has passed. The supporting actors such as Ennis’ children use different characters from the roles of the babies, to the young children to the end of the movie when the young daughter Jenny is practically a young adult.

Although I felt the movie drug on, I thought the scenery, the characters and the plot of the story was fascinating and believable. Both main characters did a great job, and I became enthralled and curious about their relationship and what would become of it. Although nothing ever really did besides their yearly visits to primitive areas, I still wanted them to be happy in the end. Because jack ended up dying nothing ever did become of it, and the plot just grew even sadder. I felt however this death took a toll of Ennis, but it also relieved him in a way because from that point on he no longer had the stress of hiding his love of another man from his friends and family and didn’t have to worry, miss of think about him and being together from that point on. This film created strong emotional ties to the characters thanks to the actors’ wonderful job, and I would strongly recommend this movie to anyone for a new perspective on love.


Antani, J. (2009, August 17). Brokeback mountain. Retrieved from http://cinemawriter.com/2009/08/17/brokeback-mountain/

Boggs, Joseph, & Petrie, Dennis. (2008). The Art of watching films. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill College.