The "You gotta feel sorry for Jack" thread

[belbbmfan]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack, because even his last wishes could not be respected. He wanted his ashes scattered on brokeback. I respected Lureen for telling Ennis that he should get in touch with Jack's parents to carry out his wishes. Her life with Jack certainly turned out differently than she thought it would. I think she still felt some affection for Jack. And Ennis sure tried to 'do right by Jack'. If only John Twist didn't hate his son so much.
Even in death, Jack could not get what he wished for 

[Brown Eyes]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack, because even his last wishes could not be respected. He wanted his ashes scattered on brokeback. I respected Lureen for telling Ennis that he should get in touch with Jack's parents to carry out his wishes. Her life with Jack certainly turned out differently than she thought it would. I think she still felt some affection for Jack. And Ennis sure tried to 'do right by Jack'. If only John Twist didn't hate his son so much.
Even in death, Jack could not get what he wished for 

I agree... all the good points you made are definitely sad.  It is horrifying that Jack's own Dad won't let his final explicit wishes be carried out.
 

But it goes even further. It's only "in death," Jack finally was able to communicate the depths of his love to Ennis (they' re the signals that open Ennis's eyes permanently and completely to what his situation really has been for 20 years), and it's only "in death" Jack finally got the commitment from Ennis that he wanted and deserved (the "Jack, I swear..." moment). Oh, that all of this had to come too late!  All that Ennis does for him following his death would have stunned a living Jack.  I mean, Jack couldn't drag Ennis kicking and screaming up to Lightning Flat while he was alive... but once he's dead, Ennis is anxious and determined to go on his own.

So, it's only in death that Jack truly gets what he wished for.  All of which is sad and tragic on an epic level.
 

[OldeSoul]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack when he tells Ennis, "You have no idea how bad it gets".
Jack is always putting on a smile, or laughing, or taking care of Ennis. We only see him cry once in the entire movie, I think.

The worst has to be his disappointment during the post-divorce fiasco.  Watching the contrast between his pure happiness driving up to Wyoming compared to his heartbreak leaving just kills me.  How could  Ennis do that to Jack?  But, Ennis breaks my heart too, but for different reasons.

I think that part, for me, is where the dam breaks and I don't have a dry eye for the rest of the movie. That part is where Jack really dies.

[moremojo]

We only see him cry once in the entire movie, I think.

I think you're right that we see Jack weep only once in the film, namely, immediately after he is rebuffed by Ennis after redlining it to Wyoming after Ennis's divorce. But one can discern tears welling up in Jack's eyes in at least two other moments in the film: the first is when Jack watches Ennis in his rear-view mirror when he is driving out of Signal, and the other is when Jack states, when sitting with Ennis at what turns out to be their last rendezvous, that "sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it." For that matter, I think there might be tears of bitterness and anger in Jack's eyes when Ennis threatens him during the lakeside quarrely shortly after. These are subtle moments, and exemplify the extraordinary finesse and skill of Jake's performance. 

[David]

For that matter, I think there might be tears of bitterness and anger in Jack's eyes when Ennis threatens him during the lakeside quarrely shortly after. . 

All those unsaid things.....that hurt   

[Brown Eyes]

 

[JT]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack for waiting 20 years for Ennis and didn't get him at the end.

[twistedude]

In fact, your heart has to break for Jack most of the time..except during that first summer.

[moremojo]

All that Ennis does for him following his death would have stunned a living Jack.  I mean, Jack couldn't drag Ennis kicking and screaming up to Lightning Flat while he was alive... but once he's dead, Ennis is anxious and determined to go on his own.

For all my love for these two characters, this is another aspect of their relations that puzzles me. When you are in love with someone, it makes sense that you would want to know everything about your beloved, including everything about their past, their childhood, and all the myriad factors that helped make them who they were when you met them. I could imagine being in Jack's place, for example, and taking a trip down to Sage simply to get a better idea of what shaped my soul-mate's being. Yet there is no evidence of such an impulse on Jack's part, and, as you say, it is only in Jack's death that Ennis exhibits curiosity about Lightning Flat. Perhaps the implication is that, in life, the two men took each other for granted; it was death that revealed the true depths of feeling to Ennis's conscious mind.

Quite sad, indeed.

[JT]

In fact, your heart has to break for Jack most of the time..except during that first summer.

You're right!  My heart breaks for Jack almost all the time and near the end, for Ennis also.