Jack and Alma

[Brown Eyes]

I totally agree with everyone that the daylight and the recklessness are important in the film reunion kiss.  It's still evening though... Ennis has had to wait ALL DAY (pacing in anticipation!!- he even had to take the day off from work!!) for Jack to arrive. 

[serious crayons]

It is such a phenomenal moment: so much anticipation, so much at stake. It's my second favorite five seconds -- after the turning piont in TS1 -- in the whole movie. Actually the reunion may go on for longer; maybe even 20 seconds. But never enough time, never enough! Twenty MINUTES would have been welcome.

[TJ]

In the way that Annie Proulx described the scene which had the reckless abandon involved with the kissing, it was almost like Ennis Del Mar could claim, "Well, Jack "Little Darlin'" started it. He ran up the steps, two and two, to where I was standing. I just could not help myself when we hugged and kissed each other simultaneously. We couldn't help it if we 'sucked face'. Besides, Jack bit my lip when he kissed me with his buckteeth."

It was dark in the book; but, since there was a thunderstorm going on, there were probably lightining flashes, too. And, since the book's apartment was over a laundry, it would also be possible that people on the street could have seen them kissing. The parking space where Jack parked his old green pickup could have been on the street on in a parking lot in front of the laundry.

With my understanding of the original story and the fact that both of them were so excited about seeing each other, if Ennis had not been married or if Alma had gone to "her sister's" with the girls - she had one in the movie), he would have not closed the apartment door and gotten Jack inside as quickly as possible and they would have been on the bed making out immediately.

[opinionista]

So, I just rewatched my DVD tonight and got to thinking about a subject that's been discussed once in a while on the big board.  I'm increasingly noticing Jack's competitiveness with Alma.  In the "prayer of thanks" campfire scene when Jack says "you and Alma, that's a life?" and Ennis defends Alma, there's this incredible exchange of intense gazes between Jack and Ennis.  And, just tonight I noticed that when Jack and Ennis are about to leave the apartment after Ennis has introduced Jack to Alma, as Jack is backing out the door he looks up and seems to lock eyes with Alma for a second.  I feel like once Jack is back on the scene in Ennis's life he's determined from this new beginning to "stake his claim" with Ennis.

Not only was Jack first to make love to Ennis (based on the "opportunity" conversation, we glean that Alma and Ennis were *innocently* engaged), on Brokeback they had already set up their version of domestic happiness.  The fact that we see Jack washing Ennis's clothes (then mirrored later by Alma washing clothes in the sink) and Jack and Ennis cooking for each other, and taking care of each other must make it seem from Jack's point of view that Alma is the usurper. It's interesting that he's so eager to propose to Ennis that they live together again.  And, it's amazing how self-aware Jack is throughout the film.  He recognizes through to the end ("all we've got now is Brokeback mountain, everything's built on that") that they were only ever truly content when they were living together.

Alma clearly feels the rivalry right away too.  And, much of the rest of her story seems to show Alma gradually acquiescing to the rival.  It's interesting because Ennis doesn't seem to feel jealousy or competitiveness when it comes to women and Jack, only when he imagines Jack with other men.

I just found this thread. I see is pretty old, so I apologize in advance if my response was already discussed. I think Ennis does not feel threatened by the women in Jack's life because he is sure about Jack's feelings for him. Jack, however, is not so sure about Ennis's feelings, because he keeps rejecting him and refuses to even consider having a life with him. Besides, Alma is living the life Jack wishes to have with Ennis, to a certain extent, of course. 

[Jane]

So, I just rewatched my DVD tonight and got to thinking about a subject that's been discussed once in a while on the big board.  I'm increasingly noticing Jack's competitiveness with Alma.  In the "prayer of thanks" campfire scene when Jack says "you and Alma, that's a life?" and Ennis defends Alma, there's this incredible exchange of intense gazes between Jack and Ennis.  And, just tonight I noticed that when Jack and Ennis are about to leave the apartment after Ennis has introduced Jack to Alma, as Jack is backing out the door he looks up and seems to lock eyes with Alma for a second.  I feel like once Jack is back on the scene in Ennis's life he's determined from this new beginning to "stake his claim" with Ennis.

Not only was Jack first to make love to Ennis (based on the "opportunity" conversation, we glean that Alma and Ennis were *innocently* engaged), on Brokeback they had already set up their version of domestic happiness.  The fact that we see Jack washing Ennis's clothes (then mirrored later by Alma washing clothes in the sink) and Jack and Ennis cooking for each other, and taking care of each other must make it seem from Jack's point of view that Alma is the usurper. It's interesting that he's so eager to propose to Ennis that they live together again.  And, it's amazing how self-aware Jack is throughout the film.  He recognizes through to the end ("all we've got now is Brokeback mountain, everything's built on that") that they were only ever truly content when they were living together.

Alma clearly feels the rivalry right away too.  And, much of the rest of her story seems to show Alma gradually acquiescing to the rival.  It's interesting because Ennis doesn't seem to feel jealousy or competitiveness when it comes to women and Jack, only when he imagines Jack with other men.

I,ve only just found this thread so please forgive me jumping in at this late stage.  I completly agree with you about Jack competing with Alma.  The look you mentioned as he backed out of the door of that apartment was as if he was saying, "back off he,s mine, dont you DARE touch him" . And your right about Ennis not being in the slightest  bit jealous of the thought of Jack with other women, only men.  Oh WHY couldnt they have found SOME way to work it out fgs. I know what time era it was and how difficult things were back then etc, but I get so SICK of unhappy endings all the time.  I do think that after 20 years, if anyone deserved to be happy after everything they,d been through it was Jack and Ennis.   

[Jane]

(And, yes, it would be fun to go to that breakfast. For that matter, if Ang had followed them around with a camera and filmed every minute they spent together over the entire 20 years (plus the two months on Brokeback), I would buy the 100-disk DVD set in a heartbeat.) end of quote.


Here here me too.  I loved all those moments getting to know each other, and just generally horsing around, so yeah, 100 disc dvd would be great.  Dont we wish.
 

[Brown Eyes]

Heya Jane and opinionista,

Thanks for reviving this thread!    Awww, it was one of the very first threads that I started once I had registered.

And, yes, it would be fun to go to that breakfast. For that matter, if Ang had followed them around with a camera and filmed every minute they spent together over the entire 20 years (plus the two months on Brokeback), I would buy the 100-disk DVD set in a heartbeat.) end of quote.

I know, it really would be nice to see more of the happy moments.  Lee is very cruel to us in this regard.  I'd buy that DVD set too.  Maybe Focus Features will here about this request some day and do something about it.
 

Anyway, back on topic.  I haven't re-read all of this tonight either... so I don't quite remember.  But have we resolved the issue as to why Alma is so anxious for Jack to come in and have coffee after the motel scene?  Seriously, what kind of small talk is she hoping to make?  I can't even imagine how awkward such a breakfast would be.  Poor Alma.  Poor Jack.  Poor Ennis.
 

The cut from the sweetness of the motel cuddling to Alma at her lonely breakfast table is just so hard to take.  Actually, the mood of the motel really shifts once Jack asks "what are we going to do now?"  I think some of the saddest lines of the movie are Ennis's reply to this.  "I doubt there's nothing we can do.  So I'm stuck with what I've got here."  What a sad and awful way to think about your life and it's amazing that he really can't envision options that would make living with Jack work.  I think these two sentences, though, are the ones that keep Jack hoping that Ennis might come around and find the courage to move-in with him.  These lines let Jack know exactly how much Ennis dislikes his life away from Jack.  It's like Ennis's statement after the Earl-flashback discussion where he tells Jack he wants to be with him for "as long as we can ride it". He's essentially telling Jack he wants their relationship to last forever (or as long as humanly possible).  So, I've always argued that this softens the blow of his rejection of the cow and calf operation idea.  But, I do think more and more that Ennis's motel statement about feeling "stuck" with his life in Riverton gave Jack the courage to propose the cow and calf operation to begin with.

[serious crayons]

Actually, the mood of the motel really shifts once Jack asks "what are we going to do now?"  I think some of the saddest lines of the movie are Ennis's reply to this.  "I doubt there's nothing we can do.  So I'm stuck with what I've got here."  What a sad and awful way to think about your life and it's amazing that he really can't envision options that would make living with Jack work.  I think these two sentences, though, are the ones that keep Jack hoping that Ennis might come around and find the courage to move-in with him.  These lines let Jack know exactly how much Ennis dislikes his life away from Jack.

I agree, and in view of this I've always thought it a bit unfair that, later, Ennis snaps at Jack when he says "You and Alma, that's a life?" I mean, it's nice that Ennis still cares enough about Alma to defend her, and it's true that it ain't her fault. And Jack's question wasn't the most tactfully worded. But Jack's long resentful/disappointed look in response to that seems somewhat justified, too.

On another topic, I know we've discussed this, possibly even on this thread, but whenever I watch now I am even more amazed by Jack's reaction to the first mention of Alma's name. Ennis says he's hoping to buy a ranch because "Me and Alma, we'll be getting married when I come down off the mountain." And Jack doesn't say one thing about it. No congratulations, or oh that's nice, or really how did ya meet. Just back to complaining about Aguirre's rules.

[Brown Eyes]

So, I'm reviving this thread again because I think I noticed another cool Jack/Alma detail tonight.  I'm back to clothing color here... In the reunion scene Jack is wearing a deep red shirt with a tan vest (and that pesky tan hat that always confuses me...) and Alma is wearing a reddish dress with a light tan cardigan sweater.  Jack's colors are far more saturated while Alma's colors are more diluted or receding.  This seems very significant for their one and only meeting.
 

[Bucky]

I too think there was a bit of a rivalry between Jack and Alma.  It was Jack's rivalry to begin with I think and Ennis kept telling Jack that he was going to marry Alma after he came down from the mountain.  During the reunion scene Ennis more than reassured Jack that he loved him with a very passionate kiss.  Unfortunately the kisses went on too long and Alma saw what was happening and from then on in her mind Jack went from being Ennis' friend to Alma's rival and a threat to her marriage.

Also I think Jack thought that as long as Ennis and Alma were married that they could never be together and so he showed up at Ennis' house after he got the card saying that the divorce had come through.  I think he thought that this was Ennis' way of telling him that was how it was going to be.  Poor Jack when he found out the real truth.  The problem was with Ennis and his fears about being outed as a gay man.  From Ennis' childhood experiences his paranoia was controlling his whole life.  That is why he could never be with Jack.  In that case despite the fact that Ennis loved Jack more than Alma it was Alma who had the advantage because she was not a man and hence Ennis was not afraid to live with her.