Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
The mysterious "I love you" and other nearly indiscernible moments
serious crayons:
Well, now that I know what to listen for, I will have to spend another afternoon with the volume cranked up to 60, my face pressed against the screen, and my finger on the rewind button. This will be me:
??? ;) ;D :-* :) :D :( :o :o :o :-X ??? ??? ::) :-\ :-* :-* ::):laugh: ??? ;D ;) 8)
I guess I don't know how I'd feel about it, if it was there. But on the face of things, it seems less credible than the "I love you," and I always found that one extremely improbable. But then ...
Jeff Wrangler:
When I watched the DVD again last night, as the moment with the shirts approached, I had my nose against the screen like a three-year-old and the volume cranked. I have to report that all I could hear was breathing.
On the other hand, after nearly twenty years of hanging out in gay bars where the music is entirely too loud, the hearing ain't what it used to be. ;D
I would say, though, that Ennis saying "I love you" out loud as he embraces the shirts strikes me as out of character. This, after all, is the guy who doesn't or can't complete the "Jack, I swear" thought out loud even in the privacy of his own trailer.
serious crayons:
Well, I should emphasize that it's not so much a matter of hearing it -- and I don't actually hear those words, I just think I hear something being muttered, or maybe breathed. (Straight bars can be too loud, too! ;D)
But it's the visuals that I find more convincing. Keep in mind that you can only see a corner of his mouth, so it's not like you can read his lips and see them actually forming the words. But what happens is: his face is immobile, then you see his mouth move in a way that he could be saying three words, then his face returns to immobility.
I realize this doesn't sound like a whole lot to go on. Frankly, if no one had mentioned it in the first place I would never have noticed or interpreted it that way. This is much harder to detect than "sorry/s'alright" or "hey, c'mere."
I appreciate you checking it out, though, Jeff! I think I will put it on again today, volume cranked, nose against the screen, one hand on rewind and the other holding a notebook. If I can find any more clues or elaborate on this description I will let you know.
Jeff Wrangler:
I should have specified that I did see lip movement in the closet with the shirts, I just didn't hear anything intelligible.
OT, but last night was also the first time I caught a glimpse of Ennis's wedding ring in the motel, but only because I was deliberately watching for it rather than focussing on Ennis and Jack's faces. (God, those faces. ...)
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: latjoreme on June 07, 2006, 12:37:45 pm --- I think I will put it on again today, volume cranked, nose against the screen, one hand on rewind and the other holding a notebook. If I can find any more clues or elaborate on this description I will let you know.
--- End quote ---
(Quoting myself again. ::))
OK, I just watched it about eight times in the aforementioned manner, and my certainty has gone from 75% to maybe 94%.
He's holding the shirts to his face, lifts up the sleeve and glances again at the blood, breathes, and then ... When I said you could see a quarter inch of his mouth, I exaggerated. You can see maybe 1/16th inch of it. Just the tiniest corner. Yet you can see his lips move in what appear to be those words. As for hearing, if you've got your volume cranked up as high as it will go, as I did, you can easily hear him breathe when he's smelling the shirts, and then, far more softly than that breath, you hear him say something like "- ---- ---." That is, he sort of exhales in a specifically defined way, as if breathing three words that to me sound like "I love you." If you try yourself saying it as quietly as you can while still actually saying it, you'll get the idea.
And then, immediately after that, cut to Mrs. Twist in the kitchen.
*Sigh.* I sure would like to see the famous extended version of that scene.
If anyone else finds the place I'm talking about on their DVD and has another interpretation of this, I'd like to hear it. But his mouth definitely moves and he definitely seems to be saying something. And wouldn't that be the expected thing to say?
And Jeff, to me it wouldn't be out of character. After all, it's so quiet it it's practically a thought. (But then, you and I have previously debated to what extent he even thinks it.) As for "I swear," IMO he doesn't complete the sentence because his meaning is too amorphous, not because it's too personal or emotional.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version