Am I Nuts???

[Sheyne]

I was just rewatching the You Tube "4 nights in 20 years" thing...  Just for something different of course.. 

Am I crazy, or in that final sleeping hug in the tent before the lake scene fight.... I know Ennis has his arm over Jack, but it really looks to me as though Jack is also hugging Ennis???  I put a screen cap down the bottom..  It just looks to me as though his left arm is reaching back underneath Ennis's to hug him back..  Sorry if this has been said already or debated.. But just wondering if one of you guys with the Open Matte version with more screen could confirm or deny this supposition???  Thanks..
 

[Daniel]

I don't think it's easy to tell. Jack's left hand is clearly visible, but his right arm is in the sleeping bag. I think what you are seeing is the sleeping bag, but it could be just me.

[ednbarby]

I think it's possible that he could be from the angle of his shoulder, there.

This is such a beautiful shot.  It's not easy to sleep spooned like that.  My husband and I used to try in our early in-love days.  Never lasted more than a minute - it was too uncomfortable.  We still don't *sleep* well together.  I think being able to sleep so comfortably and close with someone else like that is so intimate - it's the very essence of intimacy, along with cooking and eating together, which we never see Jack or Ennis do with their wives but that they do like second nature with each other.

[Sheyne]

I'm hoping one of those guys with multiple copies in different formats can have a look for me..  Those screen caps from the open matte format are massive and I'm hoping it will reveal it for me.

Its not like I'm gonna die or anything but it would give a very sweet new dimension to the scene, especially as its their last night together.  Ever.

 

[isabelle]

Sheyne - I cannot answer your question - don't have the dvd yet, and the film's not showing anymore here - but one thing I had not noticed is the frown on Ennis's face/forehead.

And ednbarby, I agree that eating together is a very intimate act.

[chefjudy]

  indeed the act of sharing a meal together is so inherent in most species, that it is second nature - for humans it is and should be a bonding element between people regardless of their relationship to each other - so basic to our pysche that it begins in infancy with the union of mother and child.....................

[David]

I  love that scene!    To me it represents alot.   Primarily that Ennis has come along way in his accepting his love for Jack.   He voluntarily has his arm around Jack.   A very affectionate and protecting gesture.   

Despite all their little fights, Ennis knows that Jack is the only one for him.  That is also why he doesn't say anything to Jack about August being cancelled.  Ennis wants to prolong their enjoyment of that week together till the end.

In Ennis's mind, he is doing all he can do.       

David

[ednbarby]

Isabelle, what a lovely observation - it's one of the few times (perhaps the only one) they are together that the frown is not present in Ennis' forehead.  In sleep, we are absolutely our true selves.  Nothing conscious and affected can penetrate.  Man, what a genius Heath Ledger is.

And Judy, that's so true.  Do you know - when I was in high school, I was so painfully shy and inward that I did not like to eat in the cafeteria - I hated the idea of anyone "seeing" me do that - to the point that I would bring my own lunch and hide out in the girls' locker room and eat like a squirrel?  Seems so weird, now (well hell, I guess it's always been weird) - considering I can go to restaurants alone without a second thought these days.  On the other hand, those are people I don't know.  Hmmmmm...  Damn.  I'm such an Ennis.

[delalluvia]

I think it's possible that he could be from the angle of his shoulder, there.

This is such a beautiful shot.  It's not easy to sleep spooned like that.  My husband and I used to try in our early in-love days.  Never lasted more than a minute - it was too uncomfortable.  We still don't *sleep* well together.  I think being able to sleep so comfortably and close with someone else like that is so intimate - it's the very essence of intimacy, along with cooking and eating together, which we never see Jack or Ennis do with their wives but that they do like second nature with each other.

I'm with barb, it's hard to sleep spooned unless you are very very comfortable and to be that way, with Ennis' left arm over Jack, his right should be curled in front of him, Jack in essentially the same position, except his arm is just up by his face.  That way both are basically sleeping on their sides which - unless they have some very good padding or they've got the tent pitched on sand - is going to leave them with rocks digging into their hips.

[amh]

I  love that scene!    To me it represents alot.   Primarily that Ennis has come along way in his accepting his love for Jack.   He voluntarily has his arm around Jack.   A very affectionate and protecting gesture.   

Despite all their little fights, Ennis knows that Jack is the only one for him.  That is also why he doesn't say anything to Jack about August being cancelled.  Ennis wants to prolong their enjoyment of that week together till the end.

In Ennis's mind, he is doing all he can do.       

David

Those are nice, observant sentiments, David.  All those things evoked in one fleeting shot, motionless except for their breathing.  Thanks for posting!