Review #1,261: 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005)

It may now be 12 years old, but Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, based on the short story by Annie Proulx, is still more relevant than ever. At the time of its release, the debate around gay marriage was raging, and continued to do so in the subsequent years. Thankfully, same-sex marriage is now practised in many countries across the world, although it would still be deemed a crime and a sin elsewhere. But anyone who thinks that the themes explored in the film only relate to a relationship between two gay men or women have profoundly missed the point. The story applies to the love between any two people which may be considered taboo, or just plain wrong in society's eyes, whether this be for religious, political or sexual reasons, and this is something that will continue to be a talking point for many years to come.

Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) are two down-on-their-luck young cowboys in 1963 Wyoming. They arrive at Brokeback Mountain looking for work, and are hired by the bigoted Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid) to herd sheep over the summer months. The work is hard and dangerous, and the pair spend most nights winding down passing a bottle of whiskey. After one particularly heavy night of drinking, Jack makes a move on Ennis and the two make passionate, almost violent love. Aware of society's attitudes towards gay men, the two agree that their relationship must be kept secret and their feelings locked away, and they part ways determined to forget the experience. They both marry (their wives are played by Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway) and have children in the following years, but neither can forget the time spend together on the mountain.

Ang Lee's primary focus has always been on character. Even his worst film, the superhero misfire Hulk, spent far more (most would say too much) time concentrating on the human side of its lead instead his angry, green alter-ego. Following Ennis and Jack over the course of a couple of decades, we experience Ennis' inner turmoil and Jack's complete frustration, with the latter's anger stemming from both society's refusal to let them be who they want to be, and Ennis' dismissing of Jack's idea to buy a ranch with him so they can live out their days together. Jack is more accepting of his own sexuality, occasionally attempting pick-ups in bars and often forced to pay prostitutes in dingy alleys. Haunted by an experience with his father as a child, Ennis is in a constant battle with himself. Angry at the discrimination he would face were he display his true emotions in public, and possibly disgusted at himself for possessing such feelings, he stoically drinks and smokes his nights away after his marriage falls apart.

The script, by Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana, refuses to over-simplify the characters and force labels on them. It isn't entirely clearly whether the two men are homosexual, bisexual or even heterosexual, as their relationship is built on something far more transcendent. It's one of the many reasons why the film shouldn't be remembered as that 'gay cowboy movie'. Ledger and Gyllenhaal are both terrific, and received Academy Award nominations for their efforts. Ledger is undoubtedly the standout as the buttoned-up, tight-lipped tough guy repressing a range of emotions he doesn't full understand behind his incredibly sad eyes. Tragically, he wouldn't completely shake off his pretty boy image until three years later - the year of his death - after The Dark Knight. It is a film that will no doubt resonate with most people whose feelings fall outside of what society considers the 'norm', and will continue to do so for many years to come. On top of that, Brokeback Mountain is simply a beautiful piece of cinema, with one of the most heart-breaking final scenes ever filmed.


Directed by: Ang Lee
Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid
Country: USA/Canada

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie

Review #851: 'Interstellar' (2014)

Christopher Nolan and his writing partner/brother Jonathan have made a career out of delivering cold, intelligent blockbusters that often work like a puzzle-box slowly unravelling in front of your face. For their next trick, the duo have tackled the great beyond, gazing in awe at the skies while ensuring the heavy layer of science makes sense. You may need a degree or a PhD to fully understand what is going on here, but the Nolan's respect their audience enough to allow their exposition-heavy story to unfold without spoon-feeding. Interstellar is their most ambitious, while not their best, project yet.

In the near-future, Earth is slowly succumbing to famine due to crop blight. History is being re-written in schools to drive home the importance of saving the planet, and ex-NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is one of many given the responsibility of growing a successful crop. When a mysterious force sends binary messages to him through a bookcase in the bedroom of his daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy), Cooper arrives at a secret NASA base, where Professor John Brand (Michael Caine) is planning to send a willing crew of astronauts through a wormhole in space to search for a new home for humanity. Their previous mission has uncovered three potential planets, but the astronauts have not been heard from since.

Cooper, leaving his devastated young daughter behind, and a small crew (consisting of Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentley, David Gyasi and a humorous robot) set off on the mission, while Brand stays on Earth to work out the formula that will solve the problem of transporting every man, woman and child on Earth millions of light years through space. One of the planets is so close to a black hole that it causes gravitational time dilation, meaning that every hour spent on its surface is seven years of time back home. After a disastrous mission, Coop finds that his children have aged 23 years (and becoming Jessica Chastain and Casey Affleck in the process), and Murph is now working for Professor Brand.

While this is a lot of plot to take in, and it really isn't the half of it, the Nolans' skill at storytelling and narrative mean that you feel that, no matter how insane the proceedings get, things are going to add up in the end. When the film often threatens to get muddled with heavy explanatory dialogue that doesn't really help and trying to help us understand the workings of black holes, gravity and space travel, Nolan ensures that he doesn't lose his focus. The big idea is that we are not meant to stay here. We are destined to leave, explore and discover. Nolan's passion for the subject is clear as day, and his sense of wonder is brought to life by cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, who paints space as something wonderful, strange, and fucking terrifying.

Despite the film's often crazy ideas, it feels authentic. Nolan worked closely with theoretical physicist Kip Thorne on developing the film, so Interstellar is (ironically) grounded, and Nolan wisely doesn't try to replicate the philosophical approach of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). It's far from perfect - you could easily pick at plot-(black)holes, some explanatory scenes are heavy-handed and ridiculous, and the warm-up is far too long - but you have to admire the ambition, and be grateful that there's a film-maker out there who can repeatedly prove that the casual movie-goer isn't stupid. 2001's crown is comfortably safe, but Interstellar is a fascinating, engaging and one-of-a-kind experience. Even if you don't like it, I bet you'll be talking about it for days afterwards. Plus it has the most loveable astronaut's-best-friend robots since Silent Running (1972).


Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, David Gyasi, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley, John Lithgow, Topher Grace
Country: USA/UK/Canada

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #425: 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012)

After a four-year wait, Christopher Nolan's epic Batman trilogy comes to a close to be inevitably branded the greatest superhero trilogy ever made. Even with the films growing increasingly darker and less traditional in the blockbuster sense, Warner Bros. gave Nolan free reign following the huge success of The Dark Knight (2008), both critically and commercially, and he has truly delivered once again with this shockingly intense and often quite unpleasant action-drama. This is a superhero film with no superhero, and a Batman film without Batman for very long periods. Unconventional in every sense, it often feels like it shares the epic scope of TV series The Wire, threading together multiple plots and sub-plots to form a vast story of a city in turmoil, and a man pushing himself to the limits of his capability.

Picking up eight years after The Dark Knight, Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman) honours the legacy of Harvey Dent, torn at holding the truth of Dent's insanity and demise from the optimistic citizens. Gotham City's streets are almost completely free of crime, with the exiled Batman (Christian Bale) still public enemy number one following his decision to take the blame for Dent's crimes. As a result of this, Bruce Wayne is living a reclusive life behind the walls of his empty mansion, crippled due to his years as Batman. Arriving in Gotham is missionary Bane (Tom Hardy), a hulking terrorist intent on bringing down the city's stock exchange and punishing the rich for their social crimes. Wayne decides to don the suit once again, and learns about Bane through cat burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), only to find that he is more than Batman's match both physically and mentally.

Like the first sequel, it's difficult to sum up the film's labyrinth plot. I haven't even mentioned two of the film's new characters or covered anything relating to their story arcs which truly sums up the complexity and depth to Nolan's story. Wayne Enterprises is invested in a clean energy project, headed by Miranda (Marion Cotillard), who have developed a machine that could harness fusion power, which with modification, could be used as a nuclear weapon. Naturally, Bane sees this as the perfect thing to steal in order to bring destruction to Gotham. And with Gordon hospitalised by Bane, rookie cop Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a young man who idolises Batman and knows the truth of his identity, is promoted to detective in order to investigate Bane's intentions and his link to Wayne Enterprises board member Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn).

If all this sounds confusing, then it kinda is. The first forty minutes or so is slow-moving, and is busy jumping between characters new and old, and setting up many sub-plots. It is admittedly a lot to take in, and Nolan doesn't quite have as full a grasp of the narrative as he had with the first two movies. Thankfully, when Bane is introduced and things start to kick off, it is quite difficult to care too much. This is, after all, fifteen minutes shy of three hours long, so there's plenty of time to pack the film. And Bane proves a hugely effective new villain, and although he would always suffer in comparison to Heath Ledger's Joker, Tom Hardy's creation is a formidable monster.

To give Batman his ultimate test, Nolan has given Bane the physically of a gorilla and the voice of a muffled Sean Connery. If that doesn't sound exactly scary, well, he is. His first meeting with Batman leads to the most brutal and ugliest fight ever created. There is nothing remotely elegant about Bane, he uses fists, knees, elbows and his forehead to batter his opponents to a bloody pulp, without showing a flicker of remorse or even acknowledgement. There have been criticisms stating that Bane is difficult to understand under his metallic mask, but although it is quite strange at first, his voice is hugely effective, rattling the cinema's speakers to the point where I actually felt uncomfortable watching him. He is not as layered or quite as memorable as the Joker, but his presence is undeniable, and Hardy deserves every accolade he gets.

This is by far the most emotional of the trilogy, with Wayne facing almost certain death coming up against Bane. Bale gives his finest performance as Wayne, and his scenes with loyal butler Alfred (Michael Caine), who wants nothing more than to see Wayne lead a normal, happy life, prove profoundly moving, with Caine giving a sensational performance. It is Selina Kyle who ultimately brings Wayne out of his nest, and it was her character that gave me the most concerns going into this film. My fears were, sadly, justified, as Kyle proves to be character giving the cheesy one-liners and ends up being a distraction and a slight contradiction to Nolan's dark, grounded Batman universe. Hathaway is brilliant in the role, proving as sexy and as sly as you want Catwoman to be, but it is ultimately the character that annoys.

But in the end, the flaws become a minor blip in what is ultimately a sensational climax to a truly great trilogy. This is not a fun film, and although it is packed with action scenes as exciting and absorbing as anything I've ever seen (the massive climax is mind-blowing), I found it quite psychologically tormenting. This is a superhero movie where police officer's are massacred, a character's skull is crushed with bare hands, and the film's hero is given one of the most severe beatings in recent memory. As good as I could have ever hoped the film to be in the wake of its admittedly superior predecessor, and a finale that will cement Christopher Nolan's vision as one of the greatest creations in big-budget film-making, and a historic stepping stone for the future of blockbusters.


Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, Matthew Modine
Country: USA/UK

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie