The Michigan Daily - Orientation Edition 2006 - 21

HEAVENLY 'MOUNTAIN'
LEDGER DRIVES LEE'S HAUNTING
MASTERPIECE

By Jeffrey Bloomer
Jan 5., 2006
When Ennis and Jack first meet, they won't even
speak to each other. They wait for the owner of a
sheep ranch, anticipating
his return so they can ask for
whatever work he has to offer Brokeback
in the outback of Wyoming, Mountain
circa 1963. Even when they Focus
are hired to work together,
they only slowly become
friends until one freezing night in the mountains.
When they can't help but share a tent, they confuse
and frighten each other by having sex.
They would surprise us, too, but "Brokeback
Mountain" has long since been pigeonholed as the
"gay cowboy movie," a distinction that would be as
disturbing to the characters as it will be to audiences
who see the film and experience its searching, ten-
der, almost tragic story of love and loss.
The film,expandedfromthe famous Anne Proloux
short story, is headlined by two relatively big-name
stars - Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal - who
step over the potentialfor controversy and completely
immerse themselves in their roles. The frankness
with which the film deals with its same-sex romance
(and, yes, graphic sex) demands not only the respect
of the audience but also its undivided attention. There

is scarcely a moment where viewers' preconceived
notions can play out because the romance's onscreen
intensity always feels so urgent.
But then again, so does the entire film. Directed
by Ang Lee, the Taiwan-born great who previously
delved into genre filmmaking with such modern
touchstones as "Sense and Sensibility" sees "Broke-
back Mountain" as a classic American western,
casually brooding and always visually breathtaking.
Lee develops the love story in much the same way:
No issue is made of sexuality other than the way it
affects the characters, as their clandestine romance
survives two long decades and both men's marriages
even while their constant separation slowly chips
away at them until they finally can't take it.
The remarkable thing about the filmis that Lee con-
structs it very much as a product of these two genres
- the western and the sweeping period romance
- and has no qualms about its deviation from their
conventional terms. This is brilliantly crafted work,
without question one of the best movies of the year.
This would amount to little, of course, if the stars
weren't up for their roles. As Ennis Del Marr, the
film's aching backbone, Ledger delivers the per-
formance of his career. The actor, otherwise best
known for roles as tween heartthrobs in films like
"A Knight's Tale," renders a performance so mes-
merizing and haunting that it dominates the film.
Gyllenhaal doesn't always follow through in the
final act but still shows the work of a thoughtful

"I'm glad we decided not to hike to Baby-Got-Back Mountain."

and skilled performer. As the men's wives, Anne
Hathaway ("The Princess Diaries") and especially
Michelle Williams (TV's "Dawson's Creek") are
honest, simple and powerful, aware of their hus-
bands' secret to varying degrees but always sensing
the emotional distance.
"Brokeback Mountain" ends with a tinge of
hope, but the film is really about loss in more
complex terms than you might expect. The men
live in a time when their love was dangerous;
they don't understand it and they don't want to,

but they can't escape it. I have no idea whether
the film has the power to change minds as its
early champions have claimed. But I do know
that it's moving and provocative, and audacious
enough to follow through with its convictions
without the slightest hint of hesitation. This is
a new Hollywood classic in a very traditional
sense, the sort of film with images that will
forever ingrain themselves in the industry's cre-
ative imagination if only for the subtle revolu-
tion they represent.

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6 e, cv pcvte V-/ eke,

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Michigan Marching Band
Open Auditions During Orientation
Auditions start at 3:00 PM
Required music audition will be held at Revelli
Hall on the final day of your Orientation Session.
Audition will consist of:
- one chromatic scale two octaves
to demonstrate range
* one minute of prepared music
solo or etudes that have contrasting style
(demonstrate beauty of tone, phrasing & musicality,
and technical ability)
Call 764-0582 for more information

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