I love love stories. Some of the most genuine emotions you find onscreen come in dramatic love stories and this was a very clear example of that. I will admit that it took me a little while to separate Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal from their straightness and completely commit to believing the relationship. Once I had, everything fell into place.
Both of these actors had exceptional performances, but Heath Ledger was really the stand out. While Jake Gyllenhaal was able to effectively age himself through the film, it still felt like a character you had seen him play before. Heath Ledger took a remarkably simple individual and added startling complexity. Granted, there’s inherent complexity to a gay cowboy in 1960’s Wyoming, but by nature this man was basic, and there are moments in this film that suggest such depth that it is honestly breathtaking. It’s interesting because they easily could have focused much more on Ledger’s character, but this definitely is not a movie about one man and his struggle with homosexuality and love.
A gorgeous film. With some of the locations they had it would have been sad if they hadn’t ended up with an appropriately cinematic final product. Anything shot on “Brokeback Mountain” was stunning.
Part of the reason this movie works is because we are in a time when we can still appreciate how hard it would be to deal with a situation like that. I don’t know this for sure, but if I film like this came out 20 or 30 years from now, I don’t know that it would be as significant. I’m not sure exactly what that says about the movie itself and I don’t really care. It was really excellent. Well done and superbly acted.
Peter Wertz
Wertz of Wisdom 
