Questions, hope not stoopid.....

[mouk]

Oh yeah I will throw this in here to because I hadn't read anything on it either. To me one of the saddest bookend or mirror is everytime I see it I notice that after E puts the 17 on the mailbox he stands back to look at it to make sure its okay  exactly  like he was looking at the tent that wasn't right that he put up for J.  To me that is still incredibly sad even after watching over and over and over.

Oooh Marlb42 this is just FANTASTIC!! Thank you for pointing this out this similarity in behaviour, I had never noticed. I think you have just solved the mystery of the significance of number 17.

Many possible meanings have been given, one of which being that this is the number of letters of Brokeback Mountain. Now look: he has made a little shrine to Jack with the shirts and the postcard. It has been mentioned before that his comfy seat is turned towards the closet, which means that he probably often sits looking at the shirts, perhaps talking to Jack. In his mind, he is now living with Jack. After Juionr's visit he makes a vow to him, (I swea), presumably acknowledging and recognising the reality of their love.

So number 17 is THEIR address, he lives with the memory of Jack in No 17 trailer, Brokeback Mountain Trailer, a sad, sad reconstitution of their real life on the real Mountain as represented by the shirts which had actually been there, worn by Jack alive, and the photo of the real thing. And he is doing his best to put this address exactly right, just as he tried to set up the tent for Jack exatly right.

Yep, this mail box is not meant to receive any mail at all...

OMG, a few more hours    today

[Toast]

John C Twist's eyes.
When reasonalbly equally lit, the eyes are the same
however most of the time the bright light is on his right eye and his left eye is in shadow.
One pic shows the eye looking a bit to John's left and the pupils seem identical.
The other shows the glint from the sunshine.
Most of the scene has John's right eye in brilliant light and a severe glint.
 

[opinionista]

I looked again,

I am 99.999 % sure now that his eyes are different colors.  It is much clearer if the tv picture brightness is turned up to lighten the shadow on the side of his face, but even with the picture is normal I can see it now .  His right eye (our left) is pale, pale blue and the other is much darker.

That is why he looked so creepy and scary all along.

In fact with the tv brighter it almost looks as if he has a glass eye.

No wonder the whole scene is so surreal..

I saw Peter McRobbie play a judge recently on a episode of Law and Order and both his eyes looked the same color: light blue. So my guess is that the different coloring of his eyes in BBM is due to the position of the light and shadow.

[Fran]

I’ve never felt sorry for Monroe, Mr. “Shows As Much Emotion As Mashed Potatoes.”

I agree that here's no reason to feel sorry for Monroe.  He's the only character who didn't lose something; he gained a wife and a family (two stepdaughters and his own baby).  I know that Monroe has been criticized for not coming to Alma's aid in the kitchen -- how could he not have heard what was going on in that small house? -- but that's how Proulx wrote the story.  Maybe the screenwriters should have had Monroe smoking his cigar outside on the porch or taking the garbage out, to give him a better excuse for being oblivious to what was going on.  On the other hand, if we can believe that Monroe didn't hear what was going on in the kitchen, then probably neither did Alma Jr. and Jenny, a thought I rather like.

But I have sometimes pitied LaShawn for being the object of other people’s resentment, of which she is blissfully unaware.

Agreed here, too.  Lashawn is a good contrast to Lureen.  I imagine Lureen started out all bubbly and perky, too -- obviously not as extreme as Lashawn -- but ended up jaded and bored as the years passed.  I can almost imagine something similar happening to Lashawn if she stays married to Randall.

[nakymaton]

I agree that here's no reason to feel sorry for Monroe.  He's the only character who didn't lose something; he gained a wife and a family (two stepdaughters and his own baby).

I don't know. I feel sorry for Monroe. Alma's so bitter by the time she marries him, and he seems so infatuated with her. Yes, he's got stepdaughters and his own baby, but is it pleasant to have a wife who is still so bitter over her previous marriage?

None of the marriages in that generation seem like very happy matches. Ennis and Alma obviously, and Jack and Lureen. And LaShawn and Randall, though LaShawn is clueless enough that she doesn't understand. But even Monroe and Alma, who are both presumably straight, don't seem really happy.

[Fran]

I don't know. I feel sorry for Monroe. Alma's so bitter by the time she marries him, and he seems so infatuated with her. Yes, he's got stepdaughters and his own baby, but is it pleasant to have a wife who is still so bitter over her previous marriage?

Good point.  I was thinking that Alma was particularly bitter that Thanksgiving but once she got it out of her system, she was able to put her first marriage behind her and move on.  If she stayed bitter, then it would have been extremely frustrating for Monroe.  I mean, he'd be giving Alma everything he had emotionally, and it still wouldn't be enough to make her happy.  Sadly, there are people who just can't (or won't) move on.

That said, maybe Monroe should have expanded his horizons and looked outside of Riverton for a mate. 

[serious crayons]

And LaShawn and Randall, though LaShawn is clueless enough that she doesn't understand.

I'm not so sure about this. All those not-so-subtle slights to his masculinity: has no rhythm, can't fix the truck, wouldn't listen to her if he were going deaf, never will make as much money as she made at Neiman Marcus (!) add up to something. And her gabbiness seems the equivalent of Lureen's bleached hair, an outward sign of inner frustration. I think she probably understands approximately as much as Lureen does, at this point.

There is one character in the movie I don't feel the least bit sorry for -- the one whose head we never see.

[Front-Ranger]

I'm not so sure about this. All those not-so-subtle slights to his masculinity: has no rhythm, can't fix the truck, wouldn't listen to her if he were going deaf, never will make as much money as she made at Neiman Marcus (!) add up to something. And her gabbiness seems the equivalent of Lureen's bleached hair, an outward sign of inner frustration. I think she probably understands approximately as much as Lureen does, at this point.

There is one character in the movie I don't feel the least bit sorry for -- the one whose head we never see.

Are you talkin about the killer mechanic there, latjoreme??

[Lynne]

Ennis' dad is my guess.  It's hard to muster sympathy for a man who would expose his sons to such brutality.

[Ellemeno]

Ennis' dad is my guess.  It's hard to muster sympathy for a man who would expose his sons to such brutality.

Oh yeah, I bet that's who Katherine meant.  I was stumped.

Re feeling sorry for Monroe - Try readin' Mikaela's portrayal of him in the Performance Thread - it'll break yer heart.