I always felt that Ennis knew what he was feeling for Jack once they came down from BBM. hence the alley scene.It gives more away in the S.S as it is described as," Ennis felt like someone was pulling his guts out, hand over hand a yard at a time."
Later on at the reunion scene, he tels Jack it took him a year to figure out that he should never gave let Jack out of his sights. Then comes for me one of the saddest lines in the S.S. 'too late then by a long, long while"
It is so devastating to hear Ennis in effect admit to what he was feeling, I wanted to jump up and down for joy, and run round saying, Oh yes, oH yes , he gets it !!
Then my heart dropped like a brick when he says it was already too late then. I sometimes scream at both the book and film at those points. In the alley scene in the film I'm shouting run after him you idiot, you will never get this chance again.
In the S.S, reunion scene, I want to scream at him when Jack says we got to figure what to do, and Ennis responds, "I doubt there's nothin now we can do " Yes there is you idiot, grab what you both have and run as if the devil himself was on your heels.
I read the S.S first and I just knew then, there was going to be no happy ending. I also knew that they were both not only in love with each other, but that Jack's ever present optimism would not save the day. I remember listening to coldplay, fix you and thinking how appropriate the words are. " when you love someone but it goes to waste, could it be worse"
So what was the original attraction,maybe it was simply the fact that Jack liked to talk and found a listener with Ennis. Then as time progressed Ennis, naturally taciturn slowly discovers that it is quite refreshing for a change to do some talking himself. The both drew things out of each other, allowing each the time to slowly blossom and become, particularly Ennis,more rounded beings.Ennis admits he has talked more than he has in the past year. There is no recrimination there, it is an admission of fact and even surprise that he actually enjoys talking.
In the film I am sure looks played some part in the attraction, although I am not convinced that at the time Ennis had the slightest clue what was happening,but the look J ack gives Ennis when he firsts sees him is IMO definitely one of attraction.Ennis seems more to be checking out this guy who he is going to be spending the summer with.
In the S.S I love the way that mention is made of the fact that less and less time is spent with the sheep and more with each other, this even before TS1. It almost resembles a courtship dance, nothing admitted, yet at the same time an unspoken desire to spend more time with each other, and less doing their job. For me the S.S is more illuminating than the film, where after TS1 it says " without saying anything about it both knew how it would go for the rest of the summer, sheep be damned"
Interesting too is the use of the word damned, with all its connotations, particularly for Ennis.
It always seems to come back to the same thing though, that opposite attracts, and when attraction and love grab you, most people are poweless to resist, no matter how hard they may try.
As the words "there aint no reins on this one" so powerfully indicates. It is a force which is out of control and at the same time uncontrollable. You can turn your back, you can run a million miles, but you will not escape, indeed how could you ever, that love is now internalised, it is part of the very fabric that is you, it adds a new dimension to you and therefore in part defines you.
To try and run from it, is as futile as thinking if you run far enough and fast enough you will escape from yourself.
