Big question: Can director Ang Lee woo viewers and set a mood of quiet Wyoming romanticism with two guys, a flickering fire and a herd of sheep?
Catch it: Though Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) are torn between feelings, families and conservative Western communities, the two actors manage to rustle up genuine romance via home-on-the-range bonding (think flirty lassoing). Set to the sounds of a lightly strummed acoustic guitar, this brave story achieves a state of serene melancholy as a bittersweet reflection on lost time and repressed happiness.
Skip it if: You like your men chatty. These fellas ain’t much on words.
Bottom line: Thanks to the slow-burn passion of its leading men, “Brokeback” maintains an elegant sadness, as love threatens to drift away like tumbleweeds. It’s a gorgeous meditation on the sorrow of finding everything you want and not knowing how to keep it.
Bonus: Forget its Oscar chances, “Brokeback” could be the foundation for next year’s hit show, “Queer Eye for the Marlboro Man.”
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mpais@tribune.com
