Brokeback Mountain comparison PDF

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Tom Sullivan SCWR 429 Due: 3/1/15 Brokeback Mountain Comparison Brokeback Mountain is the story of Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist. In 1963, Ennis and Jack meet while herding sheep atop Brokeback Mountain. Ennis is a ranch hand, engaged to be married, and orphaned after his parents were killed in a car accident. Jack dreams of becoming a rodeo cowboy. The two men become friends, and then, after a night of heavy drinking, become lovers. As the summer goes on, the bond between them becomes stronger, and they continue to spend their nights together in the tent. But, when the summer comes to an end, the men go their separate ways. Ennis returns to Alma, his fiancé, and soon is the father of two young girls. Jack heads down to Texas where he marries Lureen, a cowgirl with a wealthy father. However, both Ennis and Jack still long for each other. Four years after the summer atop Brokeback Mountain, Jack writes to Ennis, and arranges to meet up with him. Immediately upon Jack’s arrival, their passion explodes, and the men end up spending the weekend together, falling deeper in love. Although Jack has a wife, and Ennis has a family, the two continue to get together periodically atop Brokeback Mountain. But, Alma had witnessed her husband kissing Jack, and comes to understand what is really going on during these trips. She and Ennis get divorced, and Ennis loses custody of his daughters. After the divorce, Jack desperately tries to get Ennis to go off with him, where they could live a simple life together working on a ranch. But Ennis refuses, worried the two will be killed if the outside world finds out that they are “queer”. They continue to live

separate lives, frustrated by their inability to be together. As Ennis rejects Jack again, Jack tells him, “I wish I knew how to quit you.” One day, Ennis’s letter to Jack returns with the word “Deceased” written on it. Ennis finds out from Lureen that Jack has been killed, and although she claims it was an accident, Ennis knows that Jack has been beaten to death for being gay. He returns to Jack’s childhood home, where he finds two shirts worn during the summer on Brokeback Mountain, one Jack’s, and one his own. Ennis returns to his trailer, where he dreams about Jack and the true love that never came to be. I thought film Brokeback Mountain was an excellent adaptation of the short story. The filmmakers had to make many of their own decision, expanding upon subplots while remaining true to the central arc of the story. What I especially enjoyed about the adaptation, was the way the film managed to capture the tone of the story. In Brokeback Mountain, the characters are gritty and tough, but there is also a great sense of beauty. While the author, Annie Proulx, uses her language in a beautiful way, Ang Lee uses the camera. He employs many beautiful wide shots of the Rocky Mountain terrain, as well as long steady shots that give the viewer a sense of stillness and tranquility. It is truly an epic film to watch. While many Westerns capture the audience through an epic adventure, Ang Lee shows us epic love. The filmmakers expanded the story, adding subplots and delving further into secondary characters. I loved the way the movie focuses more attention on Jack’s life in Texas. Lureen, Jack’s wife, is given life as a character, and we get to see her go from young and perky cowgirl, to emotionless wife of a man who doesn’t truly love her. This character helps show the other people who suffer from Ennis and Jack’s forbidden

romance. Anne Hathaway does an excellent job in the role. Jack’s life in Texas also includes an excellent scene where he stands up to his father in law. I thought this was very necessary, because Jack is the one who comes off more sensitive than Ennis, and this scene shows that he is not a weak person. Another subplot I thought was an excellent addition to the film was when Jack’s daughter, Alma Jr., gets engaged at the end of the story. While the end of the original short story is very depressing, this addition gives the film a small sense of hope. Although it is tragic that Ennis and Jack were never together, at least we get to see another young person who is with the person she loves. The film was also structured very well. It is a linear tale, with only a few flashbacks. But the beginning of the film is a little bit different. In the short story, we are introduced to each character’s background, and then the real story begins when they meet on the mountain. In the film, we open right away with the two men meeting outside the trailer, and then we learn their backgrounds as the story progresses. I especially enjoyed the beginning of the movie. In the short story, we see that the men are becoming friends, but it is attributed to each being grateful for a companion. The film gives us a few well-done moments of bonding between the two men, as well as a bit of sexual tension when Jack puts his arm around Ennis. This makes it less surprising when they eventually get together. Although I enjoyed the film, there are a few changes I would have made. In the film, just as in the short story, Jack’s death comes very suddenly. In the story I was okay with this for a few reasons. First, because it was very clearly Ennis’s story, and second because I had not already spent two hours invested in the lives of these characters. The

film is less Ennis’s story and more the story of both of them. Jack is on screen nearly as much as Ennis is, and for him to suddenly die felt very unsatisfying. His death is largely offscreen, except for a brief vision of it happening by Ennis. If I had made the film, I would have built up more tension in the lead-up to Jack’s death. How did people find out he was gay? How did the killers manage to get him alone on the side of a road? I felt like Jack deserved a better death than he received. But maybe that’s part of the tragedy of the story. I also thought the film was a little bit too long. The short story managed to pack an emotional punch in a fairly small amount of words. I think the movie could have done it in less minutes than were used. One of the subplots that were added to the film, that I would have cut, was the introduction of a girlfriend character who briefly dates Ennis. I believe this character was used to show that Ennis will never get over Jack, but I felt that she really wasn’t necessary to the movie. We understand Ennis’s pain without needing her. The short story of Jack and Ennis was heartbreaking. But what was so excellent about it was it’s ability to bring the reader into a world unfamiliar to most of us. The filmmakers do a great job bringing this world to the big screen. By the end of both the film and the short story, the audience truly cares about the two main characters, and this makes for a story that isn’t easy to forget....