When I first saw Brokeback Mountain the movie, I was immediately pleased with the opening titles and I was delighted that Heath and Jake were kind to my eyes. But Ang Lee didn't hook me into the movie until Randy Quaid drove up as Joe Aguirre. When Joe walked by Ennis and gave him a look that said "you are just dirt from the wrong side of town", I knew that Ang Lee had a winner. He really captured the type of character in Aguirre that I have seen in real life from time to time.
So, have any of you had Joe Aguirre's in your lives? And what do you think of Randy Quaid's performance?
Hey brokeplex! This is a great topic. I **love** the opening 10 minutes or so of the film. It's in fact one of my favorite cinematic experiences. I'll disagree with you slightly in that I think the silent interaction between Jack and Ennis is so enigmatic and fascinating... that it immediately drew me into the film. This is a personal reaction of course, and I can imagine it would be different for different viewers. The opening sequence is so spare and subtle (highlighted by the lack of dialogue) that it forces me to really contemplate small details.
Like the tire that spins-out on Jack's tire when he arrives. In the quietness of the opening... this tire almost becomes a climactic moment of action. The truck almost seems to have a personality... which, of course interacts with Jack's own personality (even before we know anything about Jack, we're given a clue that he might be high-spirited).
And, decisions about framing specific shots seem to take on heightened meaning... Like why is there such a point made to juxtapose Jack's profile with a square patch of waving, green grass in the background? I think this is immensely important to the very last shot in the film....
The silent beginning is almost like poetry to me... completely enigmatic because with the silences no real clear-cut answers can be provided.
And Ennis's body language is it's own huge topic here.
Etc.
But, you're absolutely right to note that Aguirre really does sort of herald the beginning of the action in a certain way.
I think Randy Quaid did a brilliant job depicting a sour, grumpy, boss-man. I also quite like that so much of Aguirre's dialogue is lifted directly out of Proulx's writing. I think it's good to begin the dialogue of the film with a fairly direct homage to Proulx. I think Aguirre is really a hugely symbolic figure.
In this early, trailer scene it's Aguirre who begins the time line by tossing Ennis the watch (which ends with "never enough time" and the presumably-stopped clock in Jack's boyhood bedroom in Lightning Flat). And, I know that there are those out there who see Aguirre's bizarre phone call conversation as being a kind of anti-marriage rite (the "no, no, no") while Ennis and Jack stand before him like a doomed couple. I can't take credit for that observation... I know I've read it around here somewhere.
And, of course, in this opening sequence, Aguirre's ever-important binoculars are hidden away in the case that hangs behind his head. So, Ennis never gets a glimpse of Aguirre's potential power of observation. Jack eventually learns exactly how much Aguirre has been able to see (with the "Uncle Harold" conversation, which seems to give Jack a clue about this... since Aguirre brings his binoculars with him) and later with the "stemming the rose" visit where Aguirre's binoculars are again hanging behind his head in the trailer, but this time they're completely visible and exposed to Jack.
Maybe, given Ennis's fears, it's crucial that Ennis never sees these binoculars for the relationship with Jack to progress or even happen at all.