Brokeback Mountain short story

December 12, 2005 1:05 PM

"...so what we got now is Brokeback Mountain." The New Yorker republishes Anne Proulx's orginal short story. Here's a recent Bookslut interview with the author, and a discussion on turning the short story into a screenplay.
posted by kirkaracha (97 comments total)

Boston Film Critics name 'Brokeback Mountain' Best Picture of the Year.

L.A. critics also name it Best Picture.

"Exploding in platform release with one of the most spectacular grosses ever seen for a limited release bow was Ang Lee's cowboy love story Brokeback Mountain which debuted in only five cinemas but grossed an estimated $545,000 for a jaw-dropping $108,910 average per theater. " [Weekend Box Office].
posted by ericb at 1:14 PM on December 12, 2005

Look for this film to win Best Picture in March. It's brilliant.
posted by wfc123 at 1:20 PM on December 12, 2005

Look for inevitable porn video release titled, 'Bareback Mountain.'
posted by NationalKato at 1:25 PM on December 12, 2005

Nuts. I'd been rooting for The Constant Gardener.

Still, they're both from Focus Features. They seem to put out more good movies than any other studio, despite the fact that they have about 10% of the quantity.
posted by gsteff at 1:26 PM on December 12, 2005

Look for more obvious jokes such as the one above.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 1:27 PM on December 12, 2005

And non-obvious jokes, like the porn video release titled 'Snakes on a Plain'.
posted by revgeorge at 1:35 PM on December 12, 2005

"The New York Film Critics Circle became the latest group to name the cowboy romance “Brokeback Mountain” as the year’s top film..."
posted by ericb at 1:40 PM on December 12, 2005

Look for more obvious jokes such as the one above.

Actually, I wasn't joking. But I can see how you'd miss that.
posted by NationalKato at 1:45 PM on December 12, 2005

"both rough-mannered, rough-spoken, inured to the stoic life. Ennis, reared by his older brother and sister..."

Should the link have been labelled "Spoiler Alert"?
posted by hal9k at 1:47 PM on December 12, 2005

Wouldn't you avoid reading the short story if you were afraid of spoiling the movie?
posted by chunking express at 1:48 PM on December 12, 2005

When I heard about this movie my first thought was "please tell me they also eat pudding."
posted by Optimus Chyme at 1:55 PM on December 12, 2005

May I be the first to point out that South Park foretold the whole "gay cowboys" film genre in the "South Park Film Festival" episode. BTW, do the cowboys eat pudding in the film?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 1:57 PM on December 12, 2005

Goddammit, Optimus!
posted by ZenMasterThis at 1:58 PM on December 12, 2005

Both Stephen Colbert and Aaron MacGruder have made mirth of the notional unsuspecting straight guy (homonausic or not) looking for a good old-fashioned western.
posted by kurumi at 2:13 PM on December 12, 2005

Speaking of which: The straight dude's guide to 'Brokeback'
posted by mumble at 2:21 PM on December 12, 2005

"both rough-mannered, rough-spoken, inured to the stoic life. Ennis, reared by his older brother and sister..."

The fact that he's reared by his older brother and sister is a spoiler? Here's another spoiler--the movie's about gay cowboys!
posted by ghastlyfop at 2:29 PM on December 12, 2005

“ She also explained that the “central mythology of this country is about the West. It’s the most perfect setting for everything. It’s got balls.” “

In this case four of ‘em.

I’m hoping this is a movie with some testicular fortitude. Not simply because I like Ang Lee, but because it almost has to be brilliant to overcome it’s unfortunate title.
I’m probably going to see it in the theaters though. Only because it doesn’t have SFX which require me going to a movie theater tho. If it’s that good I might see it. But I’m backlogged with good movies to see on DVD.
posted by Smedleyman at 2:29 PM on December 12, 2005

In all the hullaballoo about this movie, I never picked up on the fact that it's directed by Ang Lee, which almost certainly means it's worth seeing. I made it through "Chuck and Buck," so surely this won't be a big deal....
posted by kimota at 2:36 PM on December 12, 2005

I want to see a looping animated GIF based on the movie.
posted by anthill at 2:37 PM on December 12, 2005

It's about GAY cowboys! Ooh, how AVANTE GARDE and DARING and simply BRILLIANT!
posted by keswick at 2:38 PM on December 12, 2005

"Ooh, how AVANTE GARDE..."

We've been all through that....
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/46836
posted by Smedleyman at 2:44 PM on December 12, 2005

Best Picture Oscar goes to: Munich.
</obvious>
posted by spock at 2:45 PM on December 12, 2005

How's that obvious?
posted by ghastlyfop at 2:49 PM on December 12, 2005

Speaking of which: The straight dude's guide to 'Brokeback'

"...even the expression 'release date' is making you kind of jittery."
posted by kirkaracha at 2:53 PM on December 12, 2005

Because, frankly, there are a lot of compelling stories out there involving jewish people, or the nation of Isreal, and Spielberg has one of those cards that they punch every time he makes one. "Get 9 'Best Picture' Oscars and his 10th is free."
posted by spock at 2:55 PM on December 12, 2005

I saw it this weekend at the Santa Fe Film Festival. The screenwriters spoke beforehand, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, and both said how it was a labor of love to get it made. Took seven years. Lee said everyone who worked on the film was "blessed."

It was pretty damn good, if a little slow, and Ledger's performance is as amazing as everyone says.

I'm just waiting for the protests and pulpit condemnations to begin.
posted by gottabefunky at 2:59 PM on December 12, 2005

Not buying it--the movie is apparently pretty amazing, and I'm looking forward to seeing it, but there's nothing obvious about its potential best picture win. And come to think of it, fuck the Oscars.
posted by ghastlyfop at 3:00 PM on December 12, 2005

Well he's only made one and it was a really good movie, so... I'm not sure if that holds up. If anything, I would think the pressure's on Spielberg to be as good or better then Schindler's list. So far the reviews have said, No.
posted by cell divide at 3:00 PM on December 12, 2005

“I'm just waiting for the protests and pulpit condemnations to begin.” - posted by gottabefunky

Yeah, but I'm very much in favor of all that. Especially after ‘A Knight's Tale,’ Jesus, what an abomination. Pissing on Chaucer's work.

...oh, you mean because of the gay sex thing. Well, idiots abound.
posted by Smedleyman at 3:06 PM on December 12, 2005

"[I]ndustry wags...proclaim 2005 the 'Year of the Gay in Hollywood'."

"[T]his 'Year of the Gay' follows a presidential election that many viewed as an endorsement of traditional values.

It would seem Hollywood missed the memo, that it's out of touch with the mood of the heartland. But maybe something else is going on.

Movie executives didn't huddle in a smoky room and decide to launch a campaign, but the explosion of gay-related movies could well be a reaction to the ongoing national gay rights debate." [Houston Chronicle | December 11, 2005]

posted by ericb at 3:24 PM on December 12, 2005

Considering the trouble the AMPAS apparently had with honoring Reds ("ewww, it's about Commies!!"), I can hardly wait for next spring.
posted by alumshubby at 3:41 PM on December 12, 2005

I tried to read the New Yorker article but only made it halfway through. This is what passes for literature now? And it's not the gay sex; it's the stilted prose void of detail and the awkward dialogue. I had to stop when I found myself plowing through it.

Ohhh... I'll probably see the movie. You're just not going to find the short story on my shelf anytime soon.
posted by sbutler at 3:58 PM on December 12, 2005

Just read the story myself. Very moving.

I'd have to disagree with your critique, sbutler, but, as they say, there's no disputing individual tastes.
posted by darkstar at 4:01 PM on December 12, 2005

Will the long story be "on your shelf"? If you know what I mean, wink wink nudge nudge...
(don't shoot me!)
posted by anthill at 4:03 PM on December 12, 2005

Boondocks covered the movie last week.
posted by maurice at 4:03 PM on December 12, 2005

"Look for inevitable porn video release titled, 'Bareback Mountain.'"

I'd think Bareback Mountin' would be more appropriate.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:13 PM on December 12, 2005

Do yourself a favor and see the movie if you can, it really is a brilliant shot and expertly paced film (and deserving of all the praise it's getting.)
posted by bclark at 4:43 PM on December 12, 2005

mr crash davis: hah!!
posted by rbs at 4:48 PM on December 12, 2005

Our critics' group just voted for "Squid and the Whale" for best pic. Marcy gave "Brokeback" a less than stellar review. The best studio picture this year was indeed "Munich." It's gripping and complex; Spielberg's direction is incredibly smooth and the Kushner script is asking all sorts of tough questions. The last shot is especially audacious, and in a way "Munich" is also the best American movie about 9/11 yet. (Sorry for the slight derail, I saw it on Friday and can't stop thinking about it.)
posted by muckster at 4:50 PM on December 12, 2005

Spoiler alert on that review, muckster.
posted by darkstar at 5:05 PM on December 12, 2005

I'm holding back on declaring "best film of the year" until The New World comes out. Terrence Mallick produces movies that are more alive and beautiful than anything else calling itself art these days. Too bad they only come around once per decade.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 5:06 PM on December 12, 2005

Is it just me or does the original short story suffer from some absolutely terrible writing? "Gun's goin' off," indeed.
posted by kindall at 5:18 PM on December 12, 2005

Sorry darkstar, I didn't think it was giving away too much. My apologies.

sirmissalot, "The New World" is interesting because of Malick's style, and the actress who plays Pocahontas is very good, but I found the plot a little too thin and unsatisfactory for the running time. But it creates an oddly authentic feel, and for that alone it's worth seeing.
posted by muckster at 5:28 PM on December 12, 2005

I don't like Ang Lee much (Crouching Tiger sucked sooo bad), but I liked the Ice Storm, so I guess he's OK with good source material.

Unfortunately, I don't like E. Annie Proulx much either. The Shipping News didn't do it at all for me, and that accordion passed down through the ages nigh killed me with boredom.

That said, I liked the short story a lot. It sounds like a good movie with a subject that's never (?) been broached in American cinema (at least not at this budget), i.e. gay men who have gay sex but don't think that they're gay. I'll hit it.
posted by mrgrimm at 5:50 PM on December 12, 2005

The original short story -- well, I know we're supposed to think Proulx is the shit, but honestly, I've read some better porntastic fanfiction. A lot of better fanfiction, in fact.

The movie, of course, I anticipate seeing tomorrow.
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:09 PM on December 12, 2005

booksandlibretti- and then, you can write the fan fiction. Don't laugh, you know it'll happen.
posted by headspace at 7:04 PM on December 12, 2005

Read. Me mean to type *read* the fan fiction. Jeez. See how het up I am about this movie?
posted by headspace at 7:04 PM on December 12, 2005

The fact that he's reared by his older brother and sister is a spoiler? — ghastlyfop, above

Umm, gf, I think hal9k was making a funny: Look at how he formatted his original post. Now think double-entendre...
posted by rob511 at 7:26 PM on December 12, 2005

Thanks for the post, particularly the supplemental stuff. The interview in your final link is good stuff.
posted by .kobayashi. at 7:33 PM on December 12, 2005

Bahaaaahahahaha...
Can't believe I missed that.
posted by ghastlyfop at 7:34 PM on December 12, 2005

headspace, I don't think I've actually seen anyone writing fanfiction based on anything Proulx has done. Granted, my research is far from extensive (like, uh, really far), but -- how shall I put this? -- I prefer to believe that everyone else just agrees with my assessment of the quality of her work.
posted by booksandlibretti at 8:03 PM on December 12, 2005

ooo, is that a great story! thanks, kirk.
posted by amberglow at 8:23 PM on December 12, 2005

"Unfortunately, I don't like E. Annie Proulx much either. The Shipping News didn't do it at all for me, and that accordion passed down through the ages nigh killed me with boredom."

I loved 'Shipping News' and thought 'Postcards' was just brilliant. I do agree with you on 'Accordian Crimes' and thought that the first 'Wyoming Stories' was pretty bleak and thin.

As for Brokeback Mountain, it was certainly not the best story in the book. Part of me thinks the buzz is BECAUSE it is a 'gay cowboy' movie. Out of all of Proulx's writings, this is one that I just am not all that excited about.
posted by UseyurBrain at 8:58 PM on December 12, 2005

This is what passes for literature now? And it's not the gay sex; it's the stilted prose void of detail and the awkward dialogue. I had to stop when I found myself plowing through it.

Amen, although I wouldn't say her prose is void of detail so much as hilariously clunky with it. I've tried and tried to get into Proulx's writing, but it's like slogging through mud. Thick, gooey mud that rears up and throws heavy sludge metaphors like "his smile disclosed buckteeth, not pronounced enough to let him eat popcorn out of the neck of a jug, but noticeable." And try getting around this one:

The cold air sweetened, banded pebbles and crumbs of soil cast sudden pencil-long shadows, and the rearing lodgepole pines below them massed in slabs of somber malachite.

Hookay. De gustibus and all, but I find Proulx's writing so stodgy and pretentious it's sometimes hard to keep from laughing out loud as I plow through it. Hope the movie's better, but as a gay guy, I'm not all that thrilled to see yet another weepy story of unrequited gay love being held up as the latest Great Saviour of Gay Rights to come out of Hollywood. Give me a break.
posted by mediareport at 9:11 PM on December 12, 2005

Stop being such a negative nancy...
posted by Rothko at 9:19 PM on December 12, 2005

Stop being such a negative nancy...

*breaks out laughing*
posted by mediareport at 9:27 PM on December 12, 2005

The cold air sweetened, banded pebbles and crumbs of soil cast sudden pencil-long shadows, and the rearing lodgepole pines below them massed in slabs of somber malachite.

Actually, I've witnessed exactly this happen. This phrase may strike some as kludgy or lugubrious, but it is a perfect description of a transformation I've seen manifest dozens of times when wandering the wilderness. I was frankly taken aback that Proulx had so well captured the moment in such otherwise sparse prose.

Similarly, the dialogue that seems stilted to some sounds perfectly representative of what I imagine the two guys would talk like. Not smooth and polished eloquence, but a stilted, chewed-up, sometimes painfully simple and unsophisticated vernacular.

This faithful attention to detail is a key part of what made the narrative come alive for me, and gave a powerful presence and authenticity to an already powerful and authentic story.
posted by darkstar at 9:50 PM on December 12, 2005

Teh ghey is teh Funni!
posted by Balisong at 10:15 PM on December 12, 2005

That was last year, Balisong. This year's color is back to Tragic. Clowns or victims, over and over and over again. Oy.
posted by mediareport at 10:28 PM on December 12, 2005

Oh OK, tragic clowns..?
I think that was late 30's to mid 40's.. or was it later?
posted by Balisong at 10:35 PM on December 12, 2005

I can see mediareport's point, but I'm with darkstar mainly. Proulx is definitely an academic's writer, but getting published in the New Yorker, that comes with the territory. My one caveat is that much of the story's power derives from the off-center characters, who are not at all off center except for one thing. And I didn't fully buy the big Relationship Discussion right after they got back together.

Also, a lot of the pushback on the movie, pre-release, has already been about the issue that they aren't traditionally gay men, but rather outwardly hetero men in denial, barely able to admit their own love for each other. Except that to me that's the whole point. Hm.

Anyway, I liked the story better when it was called Low.
posted by dhartung at 10:38 PM on December 12, 2005

I'd rather be portrayed as a member of a community with strength and humanity (as tragic as it may seem) than as a part of a group of buffoonish clowns.
posted by Rothko at 10:40 PM on December 12, 2005

What made the story especially moving for me was the fact that the two guys were really not built for introspection and reflection, making their attraction all the more powerful for its incomprehensiblity. A good example comes when they first seperate--Jack is obviously bereft, but he thinks it is nausea and tries unsuccessfully to puke.

A couple of times they become aware of the existence of their desire for each other, and though they never overtly examine it, both are changed and made to grow, though in warped and grotesque ways.

I thought it was spare, balanced away from sentimentality, and very true sounding. I spent most of my formative years around very very rural people including cowboys (in Montana and Minnesota) and if any of the guys I knew fell for each other, it would have sounded a lot like this. The guys were well-drawn country boys that avoided being the cowboy "type."
posted by Jesse H Christ at 11:02 PM on December 12, 2005

I'd rather be portrayed as a member of a community with strength and humanity (as tragic as it may seem) than as a part of a group of buffoonish clowns.

I'm not sure which group you're suggesting the characters in this story are a part of. They are not part of any community (gay community or the rural Wyoming community), but neither are they portrayed as buffoons or clowns. They are tragic, certainly.... Am I just not getting something?
posted by Jesse H Christ at 11:07 PM on December 12, 2005

Straight people will identify the characters as gay — whether or not they are — and draw the usual connections in their minds. Hopefully that answers your question?
posted by Rothko at 11:15 PM on December 12, 2005

Not really.

If I understand correctly, you would prefer to have characters who are a part of a gay community, than these guys who are individuals?

As a gay person, I really don't like the fact that other people (straight and gay) automatically think of me as part of the "gay community." I am just a guy who happens to like fucking other guys--this really is the only way I am affiliated with other gay people, except for my one gay friend (whose only gay friend is me, and who has expressed the same opinion).

These guys are strong and full of humanity, much more so than most of the characters in officially Gay literature and cinema that I've encountered.
posted by Jesse H Christ at 11:24 PM on December 12, 2005

If I understand correctly, you would prefer to have characters who are a part of a gay community, than these guys who are individuals?

No, I'm saying that connection will be made anyway, so it's nice that the association will be a positive one, for a change. You know these are just regular folks, and I know these are just regular folks. But mainstream America won't make that kind of connection. Progress comes one day at a time.
posted by Rothko at 11:55 PM on December 12, 2005

I can see mediareport's point, but I'm with darkstar mainly.

As are Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana-who I come to find out have been partners as screenwriters for years. They were interviewed on All Things Considered. Ossana says she read the story in the New Yorker and immediately thought this should be a film, this should be a film. McMurty says pointblank in the innterview It's the best material I've ever worked with. It sounds like much of the dialogue come straight from the story.
posted by y2karl at 12:12 AM on December 13, 2005

Ah, OK, I'm glad we're on the same page. Sorry if others got it and I was dense.

It's ironic that I feel a bond (a sense of community, you could say) with these characters who are not integrated into community than the Queer as Folk folks and others who are.
posted by Jesse H Christ at 12:24 AM on December 13, 2005

Thanks for finding the original story, kirkaracha. It seems to have been offline for a while, and I really wanted to read it again (for free, of course.) It's a very human, very sad tale, well told.
posted by maryh at 12:30 AM on December 13, 2005

I ended up watching the movie last night and have to admit I found it completely underwhelming. Basically, for close to two and a half hours, nothing happens. Two guys fall in love, are too dishonest with themselves and the world to do much about it, and then... time passes. I suppose as a cultural landmark, it's admirable that we can have a gay romance at the center of attention, but as a film and as a story, this was terribly bloated and boring. Yes, it's sad, but it's nothing but sad, and that doesn't make for good drama. Instead, Ang Lee gives us artsy cinematography and everybody thinks it's profound. If I never hear that twangy guitar soundtrack again it won't be too soon.
posted by muckster at 8:14 AM on December 13, 2005

McMurty says pointblank in the innterview It's the best material I've ever worked with.

Yeah, he says very similar things in the last link in the post, y2karl - it's "perfection," "genius-level," etc. Not a surprise the critic describes him as someone "whose devotion to the story is clearly complete." Like I said above, de gustibus. There are clearly a lot of folks who like Proulx's - to me stilted and unenjoyable - style.

The hype about the movie, though, and the way certain members of the press (gay and straight) are trying to mark this as a huge cultural moment filled with Political Import, are just hilarious. Read that "Year of the Gay in Hollywood" link above; its attempt to define something around a few films' similar release dates is a hoot.
posted by mediareport at 8:44 AM on December 13, 2005

‘Brokeback Mountain’ earns seven Golden Globe nominations including best film, director.
posted by ericb at 9:48 AM on December 13, 2005

I don't really get the criticism of the writing as being "stilted." "Unenjoyable" is fair enough since it states a subjective view of the writing, but stilted (contrived, artificial, pretentious) doesn't seem accurate.

Of course Proulx writes with a view toward a more "literary" audience and is therefore comfortable indulging in some turns of phrase that could come across as cumbersome to a pleasure-reader, but I didn't think it was out of line with most literary writing. Certainly more graceful than Pynchon and John Updyke.
posted by Jesse H Christ at 11:23 AM on December 13, 2005

Yup -- thanks for the link kirka.
posted by narebuc at 5:49 PM on December 13, 2005

Thanks for the insight, muckster. I didn't think I wanted to see the movie, but then I liked the story and thought I would. Now I think I'll pass. No short story should take 2 1/2 hours.
posted by mrgrimm at 5:55 PM on December 13, 2005

Yeah, exactly what darkstar said. Thanks!
posted by theperfectcrime at 7:25 PM on December 13, 2005

Interesting dueling speculations about next weekend's opening from Southern Voice, an Atlanta-based queer paper with distribution across the Southeast:

Why Ennis and Jack
will fall flat:

Major movie chains appear to have shied away from "Brokeback." Is it a stretch to think mainstream America will follow suit?..."Brokeback" will play in just one theater in Atlanta, one in Washington, D.C., one in Miami, one in Seattle and two in Chicago when it opens Friday. In the case of Atlanta and Miami, the theater's smack in the middle of the gayborhood; in D.C., you’ll have to truck it outside the District to catch a glimpse.

How's that for commercial success? If movie theaters are scared of "Brokeback," mainstream audiences probably will be, too. Consider that "Syriana" — with its own Hollywood hunks in Matt Damon and George Clooney — reaches 1,752 screens when it hits wide release this weekend. Even with its tough-to-follow plot and subtle anti-Bush message, "Syriana" hasn't scared away theaters like "Brokeback."

Jack and Ennis won't flop:

No one rooting for the success of Brokeback is anticipating a $200 million domestic haul. But "Brokeback" could end up more profitable than "Kong" or "Harry Potter" or other blockbusters thanks to its low cost and ever-mounting buzz. There's a long history of small films that went on to make big bucks, including "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which cost $5 million to make, opened with about $500,000 and went on to gross more than $240 million over the course of a year in release...

"Brokeback's" average revenue per screen last weekend at five theaters indeed reached the "stratosphere." Yes, those theaters are in urban areas where lots of gay people live. But all movies open in those areas, and the people who live there gave "Brokeback" the third-best take of any live-action film since 1982. There have been plenty of other gay-themed films released since 1982, but none have approached the buzz, the quality or the opening weekend response of "Brokeback."

*bites nails*

Anyway, back to this discussion, here's ericb with some exciting news: ‘Brokeback Mountain’ earns seven Golden Globe nominations including best film, director.

See, this is what I mean. Any self-respecting movie fag knows the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is an utter horseshit group filled with low-level hacks and (as of early 2004) "few of the world's most prominent publications" (that means no Le Monde, Times of London or Yomiuri Shimbun). The HFPA is a tiny group that's been a joke for at least a decade, and yet here's a smart fag like ericb citing the Golden Globes as if they're important information.

*sigh* These are truly the times that try our souls. Almost makes me want to tear up my queer card.
posted by mediareport at 7:55 PM on December 13, 2005

mediareport, I'm not sure about the conclusions that first article's drawing, but some of its facts are wrong. Brokeback Mountain also opened in New York City. I think I heard there are three theaters in Manhattan currently showing it, but I can promise you there's at least one -- Loews smack-dab in the Village -- because I saw it there today.

FWIW, I saw it at 2:40 today, Tuesday afternoon, and the showing was between 1/3 and 1/2 full. I thought it would be mostly gay guys, either single or in pairs, with maybe a few fag hags singly or in groups, but when the lights came on at the end, I looked around and was completely astonished. Nearly all the other viewers -- who were all blotting their eyes and snuffling -- looked well over 60. I guess they're free on Tuesday afternoons, but I didn't guess they'd come see Brokeback Mountain. Most also appeared to be in male-female pairs.

There was one person, alone, sitting diagonally behind me who sobbed -- sobbed -- throughout the last two-thirds of the movie. I was floored when I stood up to leave and saw the sobber was a tiny, wizened 85-year-old guy. I wonder what his story is.
posted by booksandlibretti at 8:07 PM on December 13, 2005

I can promise you there's at least one -- Loews smack-dab in the Village -- because I saw it there today.

It opened in LA, SF and NY last weekend, booksandlibretti. The SoVo pieces were looking ahead to the next round of openings.

Nearly all the other viewers -- who were all blotting their eyes and snuffling -- looked well over 60.

Wow. That's really heart-tugging. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that the film might speak most to older gay men who had similar experiences of longing and loss. Thanks for sharing that, although I'm not sure what it might mean for the mainstream appeal of the flick.
posted by mediareport at 8:34 PM on December 13, 2005

Annie Proulx- better slumming through high prose. Too much of her and you'll be bored to tears.

All the same, I'm glad I read the story because I'll probably never get a chance to see the movie.
posted by simra at 8:51 PM on December 13, 2005

Sorry, mediareport. I saw "Brokeback" will play in just one theater in Atlanta, one in Washington, D.C., one in Miami, one in Seattle and two in Chicago when it opens Friday and I figured it was talking in the future tense about the openings that have already happened, rather than about this coming Friday.

It was an incredible experience. I loved the movie (way more than I like the short story -- I like Proulx's idea/plot, but I think the movie did it a ton better) and it seemed like it really moved everyone else in the theater as well. The movie is not as uniformly sad as the short -- there was lots of laughter when the guys are horsing around and stuff -- but shit, that last scene (actually, the last ten-second shot of the last scene) made everyone dissolve in tears. Then of course the lights went right up and we all had to dive for our tissues and choke back the snot.

FWIW, most of those old people were in male-female pairs. Maybe old straight couples, maybe old movie-watching friends, who knows? I figure they live in the Village, so they're probably still more likely to be accepting anyway, but old male-female couples are probably slightly more mainstream than old gay couples. Still not sure how well it's going to play in suburbia, though. I just hope the movie's deemed a success.
posted by booksandlibretti at 8:55 PM on December 13, 2005

i'm just hoping that more people will see this than voted in various states for an anti-marriage amendment--or who went to see Gibson's snuff film.
posted by amberglow at 10:29 PM on December 13, 2005

i'm just hoping that more people will see this than...went to see Gibson's snuff film.

Which, at $370 million, was "the highest-grossing rated R film in US box office history." Don't hold your breath.
posted by mediareport at 10:42 PM on December 13, 2005

"Brokeback Mountain" Lassoes a Mammoth Limited Opening, "scoring the highest per screen average of any specialty release since this column began two-and-a-half years ago."
posted by muckster at 11:01 PM on December 13, 2005

Can 'Brokeback Mountain' Move the Heartland? -- Middle America May Have Qualms.
posted by ericb at 8:23 AM on December 14, 2005

very interesting thing by fablog responding to David Leavitt's review of it at Slate: ...Yes Ennis and Jack are “heroes” to them, but not the “unwitting” kind. They’ve been expressly designed to fit into a closet as big as all outdoors.

It’s an ideal place for those queens of the oxymoron, Gay Republicans, to build their Log Cabins. Dress warm, boys — the summers up there are colder than Idlewild.

As for the rest of us, we’ve come down from that mountain a long, long time ago.

And we’re not going back.
posted by amberglow at 2:45 PM on December 14, 2005

Wow, fablog nails it, particularly Leavitt's off-hand dismissal of "the stale cliches of gay cinema." It's hard to get any more insulting to the rich history of queer film than this delightful tidbit:

Does the fact that none of the principals involved in Brokeback Mountain is openly gay have anything to do with the film's happy resistance to the stale clichés of gay cinema? Perhaps.

Yeah, well, "perhaps" you can fuck off. Again, I'm reminded of the editor of the Advocate a few weeks back on Sunday Morning Shootout, gushing about how wonderful it was that this movie was written, directed and played *TOTALLY BY STRAIGHT PEOPLE!!* ISN'T THAT *MARVELOUS*??!! Can you imagine any major black figure making a similar statement during the later years of that civil rights struggle? Good luck trying.

Finally, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who read that story and thought Proulx's sudden gay sex scene was pretty unrealistic. Of course, Gyllenhaal has said he doesn't think of the two characters as gay at all ("I approached the story believing that these are actually straight guys who fall in love"), so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.
posted by mediareport at 3:36 PM on December 14, 2005

It souds like this movie (which I have not yet seen) is going to be hurt not so much by what it is, but by the reaction against what some folks purport it to be.

It doesn't sound like a huge innovation in depicting gay life or love. There have been many other movies that have done that.
So when people cast it in the light of cinematic innovation for gays, they are perhaps putting the movie on a pedestal from which it can be easily toppled.

Instead, it might help to recognize the movie for what it really is. Namely, a love story between two men. Does it pretend to be more? There's a lot of hype about it that tries to paintit in this light, but does the movie, itself, pretend to be an innovation in depicting gay love? Those of you who have seen the movie can answer this.

From what I'm hearing, I tend to think that what may make it more innovative isn't the movie itself, but that it may have arrived on the scene at a time when mainstream culture is beginning to be ready to accept such a movie.

So, while critics abound and condemn it for its pretensions and/or lack of gay cred, what may be truly innovative is not to do with the movie at all, but the excitement surrounding it may instead speak more to the times in which we live.

Just my two cents, though again, I haven't yet seen the movie. I was very touched by the story, though. Thanks again, kirk, for posting it.
posted by darkstar at 11:11 AM on December 15, 2005

paintit --> paint it


heh
posted by darkstar at 11:12 AM on December 15, 2005

'Brokeback' Tries Red-State Breakout -- Focus Going for Broke in Expansion

“After its gay cowboy love story ‘Brokeback Mountain’ rode roughshod over more mainstream competish in Texas, Arizona and Florida, Universal specialty film arm Focus Features is accelerating expansion plans.

Focus brass said Monday that it will roll out ‘Brokeback’ on 300-400 screens by Jan. 6, altering its original agenda of putting the film on 250 screens by Jan. 13.

That decision by Focus co-heads James Schamus and David Linde came after the Ang Lee-helmed pic -- starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as cowboys who spark a taboo romance while ranching together during the early '60s -- lassoed the No. 8 spot in the top 10 over the weekend from a scant 69 theaters.

Total cume is just under $3.5 million to date, and pic's final gross for its second frame was $2.5 million, with a per screen average of $36,455. That's even higher than Sunday-morning estimates that not only impressed industryites but drew national attention.

Move to broaden the pic's presence comes as ‘Brokeback’ is riding a wave of critics' honors and media attention without its distributor having paid a single dollar in TV advertising for the $14 million pic.

Beyond any urban strongholds for gay auds, Focus is currently zeroing in on the very states where the pic takes place, Texas and Wyoming, as well as other turf where pundits might assume a gay-themed project would have a bumpy ride. But Schamus said that the film is playing to both male and female auds, proving it has branched out beyond purely gay demos in the fly-over states.” [Variety | December 19, 2005]

posted by ericb at 3:46 PM on December 20, 2005

David Letterman's Top Ten Signs You're A Gay Cowboy

10. "Your saddle is Versace"

9. "Instead of 'Home On The Range', you sing 'It's Raining Men'"

8. "You enjoy ridin', ropin', and redecoratin'"

7. "Sold your livestock to buy tickets to 'Mamma Mia'"

6. "After watching reruns of 'Gunsmoke', you have to take a cold shower"

5. "Native Americans refer to you as 'Dances With Men'"

4. "You've been lassoed more times than most steers"

3. "You're wearing chaps, yet your 'ranch' is in Chelsea"

2. "Instead of a saloon you prefer a salon"

1. "You love riding, but you don't have a horse"

posted by ericb at 3:48 PM on December 20, 2005

The original short story is no longer up. Darn! Anyone know where else I might find it.? For free. ;-)
posted by Eyebeams at 4:08 AM on December 23, 2005

John Wayne Reviews 'Brokeback Mountain'.
posted by ericb at 1:26 PM on December 28, 2005

'Brokeback' a Quiet Box Office Boon

"Who's afraid of a couple of gay cowboys? Not moviegoers, who helped "Brokeback Mountain" post the highest per-screen average over the film-flush holiday weekend."

posted by ericb at 8:23 PM on December 28, 2005

'Brokeback Mountain' Leads SAG Award Nods.

"Brokeback Mountain" continues to buck trends, showing even more heat in its fourth limited frame...

The Des Moines Register awards the film a five star rating: "Brokeback Mountain rides into town saddled with expectations as tall as the Rocky Mountains, and it soars as a landmark film and one of the year's best."
posted by ericb at 12:01 PM on January 5, 2006

'Brokeback Mountain' knocks 'King Kong' from the top spot at the London box office.
posted by ericb at 3:13 PM on January 11, 2006