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May 22, 2006
Belated DVD Review
I'll admit it - curiosity got the best of me, and I put "Brokeback Mountain" on my Netflix queue. My wife and I watched it this weekend.
What's the verdict?
I agree quite a bit with Dave's review - this was a very good movie, but not a great one. And it certainly wasn't the cultural milestone it has been made out to be. Ang Lee is a fantastic director, the cinematography was amazing and at least two of the performances were noteworthy, but overall this isn't a movie that I'd want to watch again - it's just too darned depressing.
The best part of this movie is Heath Ledger - his portrayal of a guy struggling with his anger and feelings is very good, and if Hollywood had not been so desperate to give George Clooney a pat on the back for his social activism, Ledger would have received an Oscar. Of course, Ledger can take solace in the fact that winning an Oscar these days means about as much as winning the title of 'most likely to...' in a high school yearbook.
The producer's best move may have been getting Larry McMurty ("Lonesome Dove") to write the screenplay. I've read parts of Annie Proulx's story online, and it's...not that good. Her dialogue is stilted and it's obvious she has no idea how people in the West actually talk. McMurty does, and his work is a definite improvement over the original story.
This certainly was not the best movie I've ever seen. Heck, it's not even in the top ten. But it was a good movie with some fine performances. Oddly, it's a somewhat conservative movie, as it is one of the few movies out of Hollywood to show just how destructive extra-marital affairs can be to those who engage in them. Lee makes it clear that cheating has consequences.
Overall, the movie is a lot less preachy than I predicted, and more entertaining than I would have thought. It's about 15 minutes too long, though, and drags in parts. As I said to begin - not a great movie, but a good one.
Posted by slublog at May 22, 2006 12:00 AM
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