I watched Brokeback Mountain today while dog-sitting; the sheep-herding of suburbia. The movie was actually a bit different than I expected. I had figured there’d be an extra half hour of cowboy stuff with less time with the families and in the latter years. I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong.
The story is a variant on the star-crossed lovers being kept apart by society tale. I’ve gotten fairly bored with those stories, but here it works because the characters consider what it would take to actually be together and the end result is quite plausible without requiring lots of contrivance and idiocy (::cough:: Romeo and Juliet ::cough::).
Anyways, for those that haven’t seen it, the movie is worthwhile because the acting is superb. You actually understand the emotions involved and how the Closet screws up everything for everyone involved. I tend to think making the wives reasonably sympathetic was probably key to the success there.
Also, the movie has helped me understand why some conservatives think gay marriage would destroy traditional marriage. Having that option would have resulted in a quick(er) ending to the marriages in the movie. Similarly, think of your classic stand-up comic marriage of a guy wanting sex and a woman wanting financial/emotional support. Thing is, it hurts everyone involved so it should fall apart [although kids do complicate the matter, might not always be in their immediate best interests. But these things will tend to fall apart anyhow and with more freedom there’s better options for soft landings. That and less marriages that shouldn’t have been in the first place.]
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