he couldn't see leaving the girls behind, which made moving to Texas even more of an impossibility.
and
I wonder if Ennis was curious about Jack's family.
and
the scene where he lets Bobby drive the tractor for a second certainly shows us that he was fun around kids too.
One thing I'm so very, very grateful for, is the way the film depicts the two men as fathers. It omits a couple of unflattering scenes from the short story (Jack saying he didn't want any kids, Ennis giving up on seeing his daughters after the Thanksgiving fiasco) and instead inserts scenes that show the two of them caring for and loving their kids (such as Jack and Bobby's tractor ride, Jack being the one of Bobby's parents who has been nagging the school).
The depiction of both of them as fathers is a direct contrast to how we learn that their own fathers treated *them*. That is all the more remarkable because abused or mistreated children very often end up being violent or abusive towards their own children in their turn. I'm so very happy for this characterization choice - I expect much of it is directly attributable to Ang Lee.
In the film, with the way Ennis focuses on his girls, and the way he several times asks Jack about Lureen, it's strange that after the Reunion they never are seen specifically discussing Bobby, or Jack's relationship with his son. Neither do either of them or the film address how Jack, who appears to love his son, still seems so ready to just leave everything behind, including Bobby..... Perhaps Jack too feels, like his father-in-law does, for the longest time that his son is mostly a Newsome? I get the feeling that it's Jack holding off talking about Bobby - that Ennis would not have minded doing so.
Jack and Ennis never get far enough into considering a life together to talk about what their staying together would mean for their children, in terms of possible ostracism, for instance. (That's actually and sadly still a hot topic *today* in political discussions in the country where I live, in debating whether married gay couples should have full adoption rights, which they do not have today.) Ennis's quip about Jack and Lureen adopting the girls, - which I agree means he can't put his head around leaving his girls behind, figuratively and literally speaking; - may possibly be the closest the film comes to addressing the issue of impact on their children. That, plus the fact that IMO one of the several reasons why Alma keeps silent, even under and after the divorce, is the thought of how it would affect their daughters, should the true nature of Ennis's fishing trips ever become known in the family or - even worse - public knowledge.
I should try and twist this someehow back on topic, I suppose. Jack's and Bobby's tractor ride. I adore that little scene. I can just imagine how wonderful the little boy thinks it is, being trusted to drive that huge tractor. And it gives more depth to something Jack says earlier, because it's such a complete and intentional and beautiful contrast to it:
"Never taught me a thing. Never once come to see me ride".