Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
lovable subtle details
LauraGigs:
--- Quote ---It seems like a bad sign that they would turn to a joint AND whiskey in order to relax during this late camping trip.
--- End quote ---
From the way they handle it (Jack lights it & passes it to Ennis, who looks as if it may be his first hit ever) it appears to me that it's mainly Jack's crutch. In other words, Jack is so stressed and world-worn at that point that he needs more than the usual intoxicant.
--- Quote ---You would think that just being together would be enough to relax them.
--- End quote ---
Jack is so blatantly unhappy at that point. Being by the lake then with Ennis is no longer even a momentary cure. :(
LauraGigs:
. . . Which brings me to a detail I always wanted to point out: when they are seen in their last intimate embrace that night, Jack's hand is out of the sleeping bag, reaching away from Ennis.
I never cared to get immersed in the "did he quit Ennis or not" debate. But it seems that the more you read on this film, the less likely it is that any detail is insignificant. The blocking of that motionless scene nudges me further toward the "quit" camp, sadly. (Though Ennis would always be the love of his life. I think the proper phrase would be "give up on" rather than "quit".)
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: LauraGigs on April 30, 2007, 01:07:38 am ---. . . Which brings me to a detail I always wanted to point out: when they are seen in their last intimate embrace that night, Jack's hand is out of the sleeping bag, reaching away from Ennis.
I never cared to get immersed in the "did he quit Ennis or not" debate. But it seems that the more you read on this film, the less likely it is that any detail is insignificant. The blocking of that motionless scene nudges me further toward the "quit" camp, sadly. (Though Ennis would always be the love of his life. I think the proper phrase would be "give up on" rather than "quit".)
--- End quote ---
The position of Jack's had is a great detail to notice in TS3! I'm sure the position of how a person sleeps can be taken as a sign of their state of mind (maybe unacknowledged even by the person when they're awake). The fact that Jack's hand is doing the opposite thing from TS1 in combination with other things like the lack of moon and the discussion of snow (and the joint!) all add up to an uneasy feeling for sure. People have focused a lot on the fact that Ennis is spooning Jack and has his arm comfortably over him (also the opposite of how he reacted to the initial moments of TS1)... and I think Ennis's position is often cited as a positive sign. But, am I correct in thinking that his brow is a little furrowed?
While Jack's hand position definitely seems to be a negative sign... I still don't believe that he quit Ennis. I just really don't. I think he says he doesn't know how to quit Ennis. Even if on some intellectual or rational level Jack had determined that leaving Ennis was the "right thing to do" for some reason... I don't really believe he would have had the will-power or heart to go through with it. I think Ennis would have been even less capable of leaving Jack. For what it's worth.
:-\ :'(
Casey Cornelius:
I missed the equivalent of this thread on the IMDb board - thanks for starting it here, Amanda.
I haven't traipsed through all of the previous posts, so the following might be repeating something
someone else has said.
There's a wonderful, easily missed moment in the first scene just before Agurre opens the trailer door to snap the first spoken line in the film, "If you pair of deuces....scrawny asses in here, pronto."
Jack had been shaving before Aguirre drove up [discretely checking out Ennis in the side mirror] and had hurriedly wiped away the remnants of shaving cream off of his face as Aguirre's car barelled up and the latter had stormed into the trailer.
As the two boys watch with baited breath to see if and when Aguirre will deign to come back out and call them in, the viewer can just barely discern Jack in a long shot from the rear nervously wiping his face again as Aguirre is seen walking back and forth in the trailer and Ennis has his back to Jack. I like to think that Jack is furtively wiping his face again not for the sake of impressing Aguirre, but this time to make sure he looks his best for Ennis.
It's not mentioned in any of the versions of the three screenplays I have, so credit must be given to Ang Lee and Jake Gyllenhaal for this detail in a film with countless such subtle and meaningful touches.
Casey Cornelius
Brown Eyes:
Hi Casey!
So great to see you throw your hat in the ring here! Yes, the old thread back at IMDb was called Notice Anything So Subtle and it was much in the same spirit as this thread. This is most definitely a "revival" thread that was part of the initial enthusiasm of finding a new home here at BetterMost but still missing some of the old comforts of the old board. I wish I could remember who started Notice Anything So Subtle. If anyone remembers! I'd be really happy to know.
Anyway, I don't recall people discussing Jack's extra little gesture after shaving and prior to the meeting with Aguirre much before. But, I know what you mean. I think how a viewer interprets things like that dovetails with whether or not the viewer believes that Jack and Ennis were flirting from the very beginning. I do... and Jack probably much more consciously than Ennis.
cheers
Amanda
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