Flutterby™! : Brokeback Mountain

Just got back from seeing Brokeback Mountain. We'd put off seeing it until we heard that it was a story that stood on its own merits, not just "the first mainstream gay love story". We were both very disappointed.

Both of us felt that the actors weren't up to the task. Some of the bit side parts went fairly well, but the primary roles, Heath and Jake, came off without subtlety, and neither of us was able to empathize with them. The direction depends too much on the grandeur of the background, but the music plays off it so directly that I could doze off (despite seeing it mid-day) and just wake up for the good nature shots. The dialog felt flat (especially since we'd just watched the pilot and first episodes of Firefly the night before, more rambling on that as Charlene and I get further into it), and in the end we're asked to feel sorry for one character who's never managed to accomplish anything in his life, and love is the least of those failures.

If you want a slow paced movie done right, rent Tender Mercies. If you want a cowboy movie, there are lots of cowboy movies. If you want a gay themed movie, we can start at But I'm A Cheerleader and work down. But this one didn't succeed for either of us at any level.