Brokeback, Bang Bang

In a word, Brokeback Mountain is heartbreaking. To find your true love and yet not be able to spend your life with them because of circumstances beyond your control is the ultimate sorrow. Jack and Ennis spend their lives therefore playing a role in life that is not suited to them instead of realizing their true nature. The film itself is beautifully shot and the liberal use of close-ups is very effective. Just the outdoor shots of the rugged mountains and sky are wondrous. Reminded me a lot of my first year in the west, the beautiful scenery, the wild animals, the cowboy bars – just like the movie version. I also fell in love in Wyoming and having that surrounding environment somehow magnified the experience. Both Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal do terrific jobs. It’s certainly the most subdued, low key Heath we’ve seen and the most vivid portrayal of a character by Jake to date. The lingering feeling when it’s over though remains pain, the pain of separation, the pain of a society that won’t accept all of it’s citizens and the pain of the surrounding loved ones whose lives get caught up in the situation.

Switching gears, the 2nd feature I viewed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, is very entertaining. I’ll see pretty much anything with Robert Downey Jr. and teaming him up with Val Kilmer is a real winner. The snappy dialogue between the two of them and Downey’s commentary are smart and funny. Good writing overcomes almost any obstacle in a movie. Downey as a small time hood turned actor in need of private eye training for a part and Kilmer as the gay PI join forces and end up solving an intertwining set of murders in the vein of the old fashioned spy novel. A must see for any Downey/Kilmer fans.