The "ABCs of BBM": Round 965! (Rules in first post)

[memento]

eath Ledger on acting: "As actors we're asked to bare our souls and it's just whether or not you're prepared to do that or not. What I get out it is quite therapeutic. I get to scream," he said. " Acting is also a form of escapism. You put on costumes but what you're escaping from most of the time is life, the social world."

Heath Ledger: Edgy and evasive interviewee

[southendmd]

eath's portrayal of Ennis shows the tragedy of letting internalized homophobic fester. 

[Fran]

arvey S. Karten, in his review of Brokeback Mountain at ShowBiz Forum, wrote:

"Brokeback Mountain has been called a 'gay cowboy' movie, which it is, but thematically it’s more. Its principal theme is a common one in literature and cinema, the frustration that arises when people are unwilling or unable to express their true feelings. You repress who you are to such an extent that your life turns into what one character says in Henry Jaglom’s Going Shopping:  'If you don’t do what you are meant to do and avoid taking risks, you’re destined to live with a life of Thursdays.'"

[Meryl]

eading up the mountain in 1963, neither Jack nor Ennis foresaw the eventual closeness of their relationship, much less the four-year hiccup it would have to weather before resuming under very different circumstances.

[memento]

oping to make a connection, Jack was intrigued by the mysterious cowboy who seemed like he was  afraid of his own shadow.

[Fran]

eath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Williams received positive reviews from Film Journal International's Kevin Lally for their performances in Brokeback Mountain:

"Following his strong performances in Monster's Ball and the underrated Ned Kelly, Brokeback Mountain makes it clear that Heath Ledger is one of the most gifted young actors in movies today. He burrows into the pain, repression and red-hot longing of Ennis with a brilliantly modulated performance that's never showy and always nakedly vulnerable. As the less complex and emotionally scarred Jack, Gyllenhaal has the secondary role, but he fully embodies the character envisioned by Proulx and, like Ledger, commits to this gay character without a trace of self-consciousness. Williams, formerly of 'Dawson's Creek,' is terrifically poignant as Ennis' deceived, neglected wife, and onetime Disney royal Hathaway is perfectly cast as a pampered princess of the Texas kind."

[southendmd]

aving successfully marketed Brokeback Mountain, Focus Features went on to make approximately $180 million worldwide.

[Meryl]

earing a horse nicker in the dark, the waiting Jack got ready to bawl out Ennis for failing to make supper until he noticed the gash on his temple.

[Fran]

"ighly original and emotionally potent, the film tackles a complex subject with grace and understanding. In fact, it's the kind of sensitivity that can only be attributed to experience. And that experience comes from Ang Lee, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker who has repeatedly shown an understanding of character conflict and the hidden complexities within human relationships. Whether it was 1993's The Wedding Banquet, in which a gay New Yorker fakes a marriage to cover up his homosexuality, The Ice Storm, in which a wealthy Connecticut family slowly implodes, or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, in which a kung fu master approaches retirement while quietly contemplating revenge, Ang Lee frames his films around his characters first and foremost. And in Brokeback Mountain, Lee strips away all the pizzazz for something that is much more pure -- a rough and tough emotional journey."

-- Mark Sells, The Oregon Herald    

[southendmd]

oping for a reunion with Jack, Ennis created a prevarication involving fishing.