imkittymyers at hotmail dot com
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
THE LIKE THAT DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME
Forgive me Father for I have sinned. I watched Brokeback Mountain and liked it. This conservative woman, this card-carrying NRA member, this hot-blooded hetero female really liked the movie.
I never intended to watch it, least of all like it. A couple of cowboys playing slap’n’tickle? I don’t think so. But I happened to catch the middle 20-30 minutes of it, while waiting to leave for an appointment, which enticed me to catch it later from beginning to end. It was Wyoming after all. Okay, so technically it was Calgary, Canada.
I no longer think of it as a gay cowboy movie; I think of it as a heart wrenchingly sad love story, although Ennis and Jack never tell each other that they love each other. When Ennis learned of Jack’s death, his pain was palpable. I even choked up when Ennis saved their two shirts, still dirty, on a hanger, one inside the other.
I don’t expect straight men to understand how anyone could see the movie as a love story anymore than I’ll ever understand why they like to watch naked women together. Years ago I did an impromptu survey at my local newsstand, where the testosterone levels can hang heavy. Why do men like to watch naked women together? Virtually every man there replied, Naked women, of course. I doubt a one of them could watch Brokeback Mountain without averting their eyes and gagging -- except for the sex scenes between Ennis and his wife Alma. In fact, those were some of the best hetero sex scenes I’ve ever seen.
I found Annie Proulx’s original story in her book Close Range at our library. The movie is pretty true to her story, although Proulx didn’t have Ennis date after his divorce. It’s the first time I’ve read anything by Proulx.
Well there it is, my sin: the like that dare not speak its name.
8 What Real Cowboys Think of 'Brokeback Mountain'
8 Where Is Brokeback Mountain? (video)
8 Have Heath "Ennis" Ledger and Michelle "Alma" Williams married in real life?
Labels: Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain, cowboys, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams