[Chuck Mayer]

Understood.

Moving on...

Quote:

That strikes me weird. How are they unable to control their situation any more than Bridges or Patient or any other forbidden love/adultery movie?

Because they are gay I think it's a mistake to say this film could be done if you changed one of the men into a woman. That THAT story has been done. But being gay is the subtext, the underlying driver of fear and loneliness, throughout the film. Because they are gay, the standard nuances of this story are seen through a new light.

Being gay does change the calculus of the situation. 1972 Wyoming. And I was still bothered by the cheating. But it was their marriages they couldn't control, not the adultery.

Quote:

If you have a problem with infidelity, I would think this movie would bother you as much as the next.

You'd be wrong

Congrats to Ang Lee and the team for their GG wins. Well-deserved.

[Patrick Sun]

Oh, also the screenplay for BM got the Golden Globe last night. So, that's 4 GGs for BM (film, director, song, screenplay).

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "Brokeback Mountain" please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "Brokeback Mountain" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy

[Mike Wilk]

There have been more than a few posts debating whether or not BM is or is not a gay movie. My vote calls it a relationship movie. Being a racial minority, I know for sure that, before a certain age in this country, a male-female relationship of different races would face as much hostility as these people felt and internalized.

YMMV

[Mikel_Cooperman]

Quote:

Just a note about labelling the film:

-The AP calls it a "cowboy love story."
-The AFP calls it a "gay cowboy romance."
-The NYTimes says it is "about a love affair between two cowboys."
-The BBC News calls it both a "low-budget indepedent cowboy drama" and a "gay cowboy movie."
-ABC News calls it a "cowboy romance."
-MTV redundantly calls it a "Western-themed cowboy love story."
-The Salt Lake Tribune calls it a "cowboy romance."
-UPI calls it a "gay cowboy film."
-CBS News calls it a "cowboy romance."
-Pravda calls it a "cowboy romance."

Many, probably most, media outlets call it a "cowboy romance" rather than expressing homosexuality as the central focus.

Funny though because of all the advertisements I have seen on TV in the last week they show many scenes with the guys and their wives and kissing or hugging them and then they show Enis and Jack just talking with no body contact.
Talk about misrepresenting the film.

Quote:

My vote calls it a relationship movie. Being a racial minority, I know for sure that, before a certain age in this country, a male-female relationship of different races would face as much hostility as these people felt and internalized.

I think that is great that you brought that up because sometimes when you talk to people about the simularities they don't get that descrimination is the same no matter how you look at it.

[MichaelBA]

Quote:

Talk about misrepresenting the film.

Consider this report from the LATimes about how it's being marketed.

http://oscarbeat.latimes.com/awards_...raight_si.html

[Chris Souders]

God, I think that poster is horrible. If I was a god-fearin christian, I would look at that angelic couple holding their new baby and rush right out to see the movie. I'd probably rush right out of the theater when the butt-f**kin starts. Then I'd tell all my friends and the media about how the gays are trying to decieve us and take our money which we'd rather not support the homosex agenda with.

This is horrible. If I'm gay, and I may very well be, I'd want this movie publically known to be about a same sex attraction / romance. I left the closet and I don't want my movie going back in one.

And if you like jesus and think I'm a sinner you probably shouldn't see the movie. And I'm ok with that. See something else. I think it's close-minded, but that's my opinion only. I probably wouldn't go see a terribly christian themed movie..but I did go see the passion...but that's because I got wind of a certain group going who I wanted to see. Nevertheless, I felt more for enis and jack than jesus (based only on how they were portrayed in their movies), but I felt more for enis's wife than him or jack.

As I see it, and I had this discussion with a fellow straight male physician colleage of mine...he said that the gays have taken over the movies. Well, he couldn't even name another movie about gays last year. But he's so immersed in his own world, he can't see it. He can't see the irony in saying that gays shove their sexuality in his face, when I feel that all I see are hetero relationships on tv and in the movies. But we don't say a movie is a straight romance because it's implied of course.. but maybe I'll start specifying.

If you have no intent to see the movie..read the thread and look for a reason to or not to see the movie. Maybe ask us why we think you should. But if you aren't going to be swayed, why bother writing in?

Chris

[Sean Laughter]

Chris, that ad is a "for your consideration" ad for Oscar nomination purposes - it's not really meant to sell the movie to viewers so much as award voters, who probably already know the main themes of the film, it's just a way to try and keep the movie from falling completely into the "vote for the gay film" hole. That's actually somewhat commendable, IMO, because according to many people here the easy way would be to market it for awards as the "gay film you better vote for otherwise you're a homophobe."

[Holadem]

HOLY SHIT THIS MOVIE IS SOOOOOO GAY

I never was a fan of Ledger until this one. Amazing performance. Now I have to watch Capote to see how Hoffmann compares. Gyllenhaal was very good as well. And I don't like him much either.

Possibly the most beautiful film (visually and story-wise) I've seen all year. It's definitly gonna haunt me for a while., I would have no problem with it snatching the BP Oscar.

--
H - tis a gay flick. Get over it.

[Tino]

Quote:

tis a gay flick. Get over it.

tis not I say, perhaps semi-gay.

[Shawn Cornwell]

I saw the movie again a few days ago; it was interesting to view the film a second time after knowing how the story plays out. I did catch "moments" I missed the first time, and remained deeply impressed with the film, particularly the direction, screenplay, score, and acting. I hope Oscars are awarded in all these categories, although I'm not sure which actor has the best chance to snatch the gold.

I think all three prime contenders (Ledger, Gyllenhaal, and Williams) for an acting nomination could deservedly win. Gyllenhaal's sensitive, intelligent performance works in perfect contrast to Ledger's powerful portrayal, while Williams hits the ball out of the park in every scene she appears, particularly in the "discovery" scene and in her final scene with Ennis. With his Globe win Hoffman, of course, is considered the front runner for Best Actor, but the supporting categories remain highly contentious with no clear favorite at this point, which could benefit Gyllenhaal and Williams as, in addition to their excellent work, "Brokeback" should be a high-profile nominee in many other categories.

The film performed well this weekend in wider (1196 theaters) release, taking in $7,832,000 (rank #5) to push its total gross to just over $42 million. It'll be interesting to see how the movie plays (box-office wise) throughout the Oscar season, especially if "Brokeback" takes home the big prize.