Farewell, Heath

In honor of Heath Ledger's passing, I thought I would post some excerpts from my review of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, followed by some closing thoughts I left out of the original review for fear of spoiling the ending.

Sure, the media circus surrounding Ledger's death is appalling, but no one can deny the power of this film, and especially his performance in it, for current and future generations of queers.

"You all know that any movie about queer longing is my bread and butter, though too often I’m disappointed by poor acting, lousy writing, and abysmal production values, i.e., most of what passes for queer cinema at the annual film festival. I usually don’t respond well to hype but one look at the trailer online knocked me out. I didn’t know whether to spooge or cry, so I did both.

http://www.brokebackmountainmovie.com/splash.html

Heath Ledger deserves all of the accolades being lobbed his way. You may recall that I noted his tortured performance in MONSTER’S BALL as full of promise. I love being right. In character, he almost always guards his eyes with his cowboy hat or a lowered head, so when the camera finally finds him looking directly at someone or something, the effect of those puppydog brown eyes is striking and melting. For this reason, the diner scene between him and Linda Cardellini (of ER fame) is so moving to me. (“Oh, Ennis, girls don’t fall in love with fun.”) She is looking right at him with those big, watering eyes and he can’t bring himself to look back. How many women have gay men hurt on the road to coming out? Hello! [...]

Just the idea that this film is being called “controversial” makes me want to flip out and move to Canada or Europe. Gimme a friggin’ break! Maybe BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN will redefine the American cultural divide from blue states vs. red states to viewers vs. non-viewers. Most of my female friends, regardless of their orientation, get off on man-to-man action, so I guess I’m addressing the few heterosexual men on my email list in terms of the squeamishness reported in various media outlets: If you can’t handle the tame representations of gayness in this film, then there is simply no hope for you, period, and if you procreate, I feel sorry for your children if any of them turn out to be queer.

Miscreant hacks like Gene Shalit and Michael Medved have mischaracterized the film in terms of sexual predators and glorified adulterers. This is so typical of right-wing nonsense. Listen up, you ugly fucks: You can’t contribute to a homophobic culture and then criticize people (or characters) who are scared or pressured into disastrous heterosexual marriages due to that homophobic culture. To hell with circular logic!

One reviewer struggled with the behavior vs. identity conundrum by asking, 'Are they in love because they’re gay or are they gay because they’re in love?' I think that’s beside the point. My advice is to sit back, be patient, and let the heartbreaking beauty of the film wash over you. By the end, when Ennis visits Jack's childhood home, there’s so much going on emotionally that I could hardly catch my breath."

Much has been said, and rightly so, about the scene where Ennis discovers the intertwined shirts in Jack's old bedroom and takes a big, teary whiff. (Of course, THE SIMPSONS couldn't help but parody this moment. In one episode, Bart and Nelson Muntz wear matching denim vests during their brief friendship, and afterwards Bart takes the vest out of the closet for a nostalgic sniff.)

But the symbolism of the open window is what really got to me. When Ennis enters the room, he props the window open a little, and there is a small bench in front of it. One can imagine Jack sitting there for hours as a child, like so many of us did: dreaming of escape, wondering if there is a place where we could live more freely, and hoping to be welcomed back home by our loved ones, but as our true selves. Ennis leaves the house with the shirts in a paper bag (offered wordlessly and poignantly by Jack's mother), and if you look closely, you can see that the window is still open, as if Jack's true spirit had finally been released.