Brokeback Mountain

Yes, I made the pilgrimmage to see it. It's good.

Visually, it's stunning. But the performances, frankly, are not all that. Jake Gyllenhall is very good; Heath Ledger is channelling Clint Eastwood; and the only woman who portrays any depth is Linda Cardolini.

I'm torn over the story. If there were more gay-themed films, I'd say that this is a great, tragic love story. However, no one seems to point out that the film contains two miserable fags and at the end one dies and the other is alone. Yes, they're rich, robust characters; but this formula is exactly the kind of story about homosexuality that Hollywood has been putting out forever. Wouldn't a happy ending have been more daring? And I don't want to hear about historical context. There is no reason for it to have been set in the '60's through the '80's, except to duck the responsibility of addressing AIDS.

And don't get me started on the unending media message that Heath and Jake are really heterosexual. For Christ's sake, Heath Ledger impregnated his co-star. They released Casanova at the same time. We get the message.

Still, I'm glad to see a gay-themed major Hollywood release. There probably won't be another for at least five years, and I don't expect to see a major, openly gay film star in my life time. So, we take our stories where we can get them.