What purpose does CASSIE serve? --- by Kd5000

[TOoP/Bruce]

REPOST (many thanks to TDE for saving this thread)
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What purpose does CASSIE serve? --- by Kd5000 --- 1 of 3

by - Kd5000 (Sat Jan 28 2006 09:16:15 )

She's barely mentioned in the book. I don't understand why they developed this character. IS she just filler material to add on 10 more minutes to the film. What was the point, that Ennis still has heterosexual tendencies? Were they trying to bring more of Cassie and less of Jack and Ennis being together. I wish there had been more scenes of Jack and Ennis interacting in the film.

ALso in the book, he stops being intimate with his wife after he and Jack come back from their first "fishing trip." That's not the case in the movie...

Would it have been too obvious, cliched, "ever sense J. Twist showed up, your not interested in doing it with me anymore?."

In the book, there is certainly more dialog in the hotel room, dialog that was ommited in the film.

I quote from the book. Don't think this was in the movie and I think it's important dialog. It emphasizes their sense of just having each other, that they are alone.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If he (Ennis' dad) was alive and was to put his head in that door right now you bet he'd go get the tire iron..."

"No" said Ennis, forbearing to ask whose fault was that. "I goddam hate it that you're goin a drive away in the morning and I'm goin back to to work. But if you can't fix it you got a stand it," he said. *beep* I been lookin at ppl on the street. This happens a other ppl? What the hell do they do?"




by - amonism (Sat Jan 28 2006 09:20:51 )
UPDATED Sat Jan 28 2006 09:24:44

i think to create the overall desired mood in a movie adaptation of a book you have to omit certain things and bring out others - there have been discussions about jacks dad urinating on him when he was younger and how that wouldnt have gone over well in film - i think cassie shows us that ennis still at that point had been somewhat detached from his world - and shows that its not just his wife he cant be with - he can hardly make it work with anyone




by - terryhall2 (Sat Jan 28 2006 09:22:32 )

I wondered what the point of Cassie was, then I realised that Ennis simply cannot open up to anyone who loves him, particularly realte well to a woman and you can just tell, pushing the pie around the plate, he is thinking of Jack and their last conversation. I bet that's why he sent the card to confirm his willingness for November - the one that came back deceased. I would have collapsed in the phone booth!




by - BillBaldwin (Sat Jan 28 2006 09:25:34 )

Cassie is included to show Ennis resisting the wiles of a succubus--another classical reference.

;--)




by - Lurcher-2 (Sat Jan 28 2006 09:36:46 )

Kd, some of that motel dialog is simply moved to a later scene. When they meet in 1978, after the Thanksgiving confrontation with Alma, you'll find Ennis asking Jack if he ever feels people are looking at him. Maybe they moved it in order to use Proulx's dialog throughout the film; maybe they moved it because they didn't want to show Ennis thinking about his "situation" during the four years after Brokeback.

As for Cassie: I suppose one purpose would be to show that even though Ennis let himself get involved with her (perhaps, at some level, in self-protection), he couldn't sustain the affair. Maybe because he knew it was dishonest, maybe because it was simply too much effort to keep the sex going; most likely, some combination of reasons.




by - henrypie (Sat Jan 28 2006 09:45:04 )

Cassie: yet another casualty.




by - sunmoonstars-1 (Sat Jan 28 2006 09:50:10 )

I think in a way that Cassie is the first subtle foreshadowing of the death of Jack. I say that for a number of reasons, but first and foremost I think are the meanings inherent in her name. She also exists as a challenge to the family relationship that Ennis has with his daughter.

Cassie could be short for two names: Cassiopeia or Cassandra. Cassiopeia challenged a minor goddess of the sea (Alma Del Mar- Soul of the Sea?) by saying that her daughter was more beautiful, which resulted in an only barely averted tragedy of her daughter's sacrifice. Cassandra was the Trojan oracle who warned them of the invasion of the Greeks, but who as part of her curse, no one believed.

It is also interesting that Cassie dances to "Mama says a pistol is the devil's right hand", which is perhaps the only song which is neither romantic or sorrowful used in the film. It foretells violence.

Her last name, Cartwright, brings to mind both a cart (which we later see in Jack's room on his dresser by the closet-actually a wagon, but close enough), and the word "right" which could either be interpreted as "correct" or "conservative/reactionary". The last name could also be interpreted as the union of "Car" and "trite".

The only car that even had a more than passing use in the film was the car in which Jack and Lureen consummated their relationship. The car, in reality, actually belonged to Lureen's father. By calling this car "trite", perhaps Cassie's character foreshadowed the destruction of this relationship and the future pretenses of Lureen.




by - stanley-hsiao-22 (Sat Jan 28 2006 09:57:59 )

I saw a show (LOGO) interviewing the crew of BBM. The producer (I guess) said Cassie is representing the possibility to CORRECT the homosexuality from the straight point of view.




by - byYou2 (Sat Jan 28 2006 10:06:39 )
UPDATED Sat Jan 28 2006 10:09:02

I agree, I actually think Cassie's role is important. She points us to the fact that even 20 years later, Ennis is still tourtured over his love for Jack and still can not involve himself in a relationship with anyone else, even when presented with a young, beautiful, 20-30yr-old female. (supposedly the "fantasy" of any 40-yr old male).




by - BannerHill (Sat Jan 28 2006 10:08:14 )

There is a subtle pwerful scene in the film that takes place in the bus depot. Ennis is eating a piece of apple pie. Cassie and her new boyfreind come in. During this entire scene, Ennis does not move, yet everything in the scene revolves around him.

I have grown to love this scene. I don't know what it means, or why it is so powerful. In it, Ennis looks alternately scared, wounded, hurt, or confused.




by - xokatyxo (Sat Jan 28 2006 10:28:22 )

I agree that there wasn't much point to Cassie. I remember that was the only part I really frowned at in the cinema when I first saw it. I was watching her thinking "What's the point of this? They're not going to go anywhere with this character, so why are they giving her so much time?" She didn't add to the story at all and her screen time would've been much better spent on a couple more scenes of Jack and Ennis (some of the stuff that's in the book, but is bizarrely missing from the movie in favour of those few pointless Cassie scenes.)




by - flashframe777 (Sat Jan 28 2006 11:01:40 )

Cassie was there to further show that Ennis was not interested in women, and was learning to keep them an arm's length away. Other people in town who saw them together would not think Ennis was gay. It's really amusing with heterosexuals because a man could french kiss another man in broad daylight, but if he takes the arm of a woman 2 seconds afterwards hets completely go back to thinking he's straight. That's why closeted gay men do stuff like that. But they ARE gay. It was clear that Ennis was not invested emotionally. He thought she, like himself, was merely having fun. Ironically it was no fun at all for Ennis as he was just obliging a very aggressive Cassie. That perspective is from a gay male who has lived it.




by - Bgb217 (Sat Jan 28 2006 11:49:08 )

I think Cassie's purpose is to show that Ennis can't let himself be with anyone, which is the biggest tragedy in the movie. For different shades of the same reasons, he can't let himself be with Jack, Alma, or Cassie.




by - henrypie (Sat Jan 28 2006 11:54:50 )

In response to Bryan's comment:

"Only connect."

(From E.M. Forster, who as a gay man coming of age in Victorian/Edwardian England also knew something about the Loneliness we're talking about.)




by - galirora (Sat Jan 28 2006 11:59:08 )

I felt like they spent a little too much time on Cassie as well, although Linda Cardellini was terrific in the part, not to mention being a babe - LOL. But I felt like her scenes weren't all that necessary really - and if they spent so much time on Ennis and Cassie, why not give equal weight to Jack and Randall - that would have been an interesting relationship to see a little more of. Ultimately though, it really would have been nice to see one or two more scenes of Ennis and Jack together on their trips. I kind of feel like Ang Lee and the screenwriters fell down a little bit during the "passage of time" part of the film - for me that section could maybe have been handled a little bit better in terms of focus. Everything up to the motel/reunion scene, and from Ennis at the post office to the end, is spectacular though, imo.




by - flashframe777 (Sat Jan 28 2006 12:07:32 )

Yes blog...she's really beautiful, and Ennis cannot be less interested in her.




by - VerdiGuy (Sat Jan 28 2006 12:16:38 )
UPDATED Sat Jan 28 2006 12:17:35

I agree with some of what has been said above, but I also think that Cassie exists to bring out a fundamental bit of decency in Ennis' character. He remembers how much he hurt Alma in their marriage. He entered that marriage without really having figured out that he can't love anyone the way he loves Jack, but now that he knows that, he is unwilling to be that cruel to another woman. Notice how he doesn't even blame Cassie, as he so easily could; he lets her off as easily as possible, blaming himself and allowing her to do so, as well.




by - flashframe777 (Sat Jan 28 2006 12:22:35 )
UPDATED Sat Jan 28 2006 13:35:06

Ennis does see an opportunity to blame Cassie when he looks at Karl. But you can see the look in his eyes that he doesn't even believe that excuse himself...he sort of gives in, and admits defeat. The last meeting with Jack just ripped the veil to shreds - they got it all out in the open. So, there was nothing left to deny.




by - Lurcher-2 (Sat Jan 28 2006 12:45:42 )

One thing that isn't all that clear on-screen is the duration of Ennis's affair with Cassie. The screenplay helps with this. It has Cassie coming on to Ennis in the bar in 1978. There's no month given, but it's after Thanksgiving '77. (And this is like a little echo of the long-ago bar scene in which Lureen picks Jack up; both have recently been semi-outed. Though I don't want to make a big thing of that point.)

It's 1979, evidently spring or summer, when Ennis pulls up with Cassie to pick up Alma Jr. And the apple pie scene, which suggests that Ennis had fairly recently cut off contact with Cassie, is in 1981.

The last trace of Cassie didn't hit me when I watched the film. When Ennis wants to toast Alma Jr.'s engagement, the script says: "He stands. Goes to the fridge, opens it. Takes out a half-empty bottle of cheap white wine, a legacy of Cassie."

Anyhow, it took Ennis two or three years to realize he couldn't play that game any longer.




by - luigival (Sat Jan 28 2006 12:50:41 )

I think so as well. Ennis simply doesn't want to damage anybody's life anymore: he can't love Cassie and lets her go. It's quite painful to hear his statement of not having been a funny boyfriend to Cassie, a statement of complete defeat, and her reply saying that girls do not simply fall in love with guys because they're funny.
Found very interesting the comments on the name of Cassie at the beginning of this thread: I too thought about some symbolism deriving from the name Cassandra.
This movie has really so many levels that it will take ages to completely understand it all.




by - Ellemeno (Sat Jan 28 2006 13:33:15 )

flash, the guy's name is Carl (or Karl?). Earl was the tough old bird that got killed.

Great thread, everyone. I think the scenes that have Cassie in them are each very important, not wasted time at all. Heath does an amazing job with body language and facial expression to show the internal feelings - and lack of - that he's masking. The way he resignedly lets himself be pulled on to the dance floor (both times), the keeping her at arm's length, the frank "What are you doing?" when she sticks his feet in her lap.

And that song "Melissa" in the 2nd bar scene, great choice,

No one hears his lonely sigh,
There are no blankets where he lies.
In all his deepest dreams the gypsy flies
With sweet melissa.(JACK)..

And then he is a shell full of pain when she confronts him in the bus station. I'm glad he apologizes. It's small, and he never explains, but I think he is sincere, "Sorry I ever let you get involved in my situation, you never had a chance, I won't make this mistake again on anyone else."

And Linda Cardellini is a marvel in her role too. So lustrous and large and breezy when she's coming on to him, so intelligent, direct, and kind with Alma Junior, so contracted and confused and tight in the bus station. There's a book out now that I've heard of called something like, "He's Just Not That Into You." Cassie never got why.




by - Ellemeno (Sat Jan 28 2006 13:39:47 )

You know, I've also been thinking how much the neglect of the Cassie character and of Linda Cardellini on interview programs says a lot about the narrow view our society today still has. She's a major character in the film. Has more in-depth conversations with Ennis than Lureen ever has with Jack, yet it's the married wives people focus on and who are invited on Oprah. Her character gives Heath an opportunity to do some of his most amazing acting. If an opposite sex non-marriage character is discounted and marginalized, it gives me an inkling of how much more same sex partners must often be neglected.




by - flashframe777 (Sat Jan 28 2006 13:41:29 )

Heath does an amazing job with body language and facial expression to show the internal feelings - and lack of - that he's masking.

He's marvelous to watch here...his responses are never what you think they will be. I still have to tell myself later that it was Heath doing to work, not Ennis. In this scene Ennis is a bundle of exposed nerves, and the slightest movement causes the deepest pain.

Am I still the only person who LOVES Cassie's yellow tube top, daisy dukes and platform shoes? If I were a girl, that's what I'd wear every day!




by - blue101 (Sat Jan 28 2006 15:37:42 )

"The producer (I guess) said Cassie is representing the possibility to CORRECT the homosexuality from the straight point of view."

What?




by - Jamessemaj12 (Sat Jan 28 2006 15:41:30 )

Mainly to show that it WASN'T Alma that Ennis couldn't be with but with any woman, because the only person he truly loved was Jack . It adds more perspsctive to the doomed star crossed lovers scenario




by - Ellemeno (Sat Jan 28 2006 15:45:12 )

>> "The producer (I guess) said Cassie is representing the possibility to CORRECT the homosexuality from the straight point of view."

Means, if he doesn't want beautiful, sexy, good, adoring Cassie, then that clinches it, he must be queer. He's given the opportunity, and doesn't want it.




by - andrewthezeppo (Sat Jan 28 2006 15:46:56 )

I thought Cassie added a lot to the emotional weight of the story. And what an amazing performance too, I thought Linda was just great in that role. She sort of showed that Ennis couldn't be with anybody that wasn't jack...and then the pie scene.

the pie scene was great because it was Ennis begining to realize that it might just be better to be himself and be alone than be unhappy with somebody else




by - blue101 (Sat Jan 28 2006 16:02:31 )

"the pie scene was great because it was Ennis begining to realize that it might just be better to be himself and be alone than be unhappy with somebody else"

What?




by - flashframe777 (Sat Jan 28 2006 16:03:47 )

Ennis could be with a lot of men other than Jack as long as he opened himself up. Saying he could love no other man but Jack is just unrealistic. I've never in my experience met a human being who could only love (as in sex & love) only one person.




by - Jamessemaj12 (Sat Jan 28 2006 16:20:16 )

I agree with you Flash in LIFE but in Literature I dont think that's true. I think Proulx wanted to show that Jack and Ennis loved only each other and that there was no one else for them . Why else would she insist that Ennis live out the remainder of his days alone in grief and regret practically destitute, with the only light coming from his memories of his days with Jack on Brokeback mountain in his dreams. I know we like to think of Ennis as a real person b/c he was written and conceived so brilliantly by Proulx but he is a character and the integrity of the character and the story itself suggests that Ennis remain alone b/c he lost his true love.




by - loubyloo3 (Sat Jan 28 2006 16:26:00 )

Is Cassie's ppurpose to show that Ennis can't be with another woman; showing he's gay, or showing he can't with anyone; because his one true love is Jack?

"I wish there had been more scenes of Jack and Ennis interacting in the film. "
- I agree with this comment 100%. It was the one thing that made me feel a little disappointed.




by - brown19 (Sat Jan 28 2006 16:34:10 )

I think she acts as a foil to jack. By bringing her character in, the viewer can really truly understand the deep love and bond between the two men. Cassie had a very important role to play. She was around in the later years of the jack/Ennis relationship. She proves the fact that if Ennis did not really love jack, and think of him as little more than a sex partner he would have no trouble moving on to a relationship with other women. Alma is different, because during his marriage with her, although the love and tension with jack was still there, it did seem to be less realistic and more like a "fling" but cassie presents a single Ennis who is able to make his own choice(and this is especially after Jack's death), and chooses (and the viewer sees) to finally believe in his love for Jack. Cassie (more than any other supporting character, male or female) is the clincher on this sad love story.

I see Cassie as the beginning of the final redemption that some people argue they see in Ennis by the end of this film. Although his true love is lost forever, he acnowledges it, and by refusing the young pretty girl, gives a more satisfying experience to the viewer. To me, even when she is talking to him near the end, I get a small satisfaction, and my first real "happy" experience in the film by his sadness and disinterest, and his apology to her. Cassie is a profound character who is of major importance to the theme and plot.

I know this has been said before, but this is my two cents

[TOoP/Bruce]

What purpose does CASSIE serve? --- by Kd5000 --- 2 of 3



by - flashframe777 (Sat Jan 28 2006 16:42:40 )
UPDATED Sat Jan 28 2006 16:50:08

Why else would she insist that Ennis live out the remainder of his days alone in grief and regret practically destitute, with the only light coming from his memories of his days with Jack on Brokeback mountain in his dreams.

Not true. Proulx opens the story mid-stream to end of summer on Ennis' 39 years. Ennis is 39 at the end, not 79. He has a lot of time left to meet new men, to fall in love, and to honor Jack. Don't you know any couples who get together after each has lost a spouse? I don't know any straight couples who have, but I have tons of gay couple friends who have gotten together after loss of a partner.

There are billions upon billions of people in this solar system alone. Do you honestly think there was no one else that Ennis would meet. That's a wonderfully appealing dream, but...




by - flashframe777 (Sat Jan 28 2006 16:48:48 )
UPDATED Sat Jan 28 2006 16:51:21

I see Cassie as the beginning of the final redemption that some people argue they see in Ennis by the end of this film. Although his true love is lost forever, he acnowledges it, and by refusing the young pretty girl, gives a more satisfying experience to the viewer.

Jack was still alive when Ennis met Cassie. And Jack is the redemption that Ennis takes too late. Cassie was only the temptation to do more harm...she was no redemption at all.

Try something interesting the next time you watch this movie. Imagine you are a gay man, and watch it with his eyes. New dimensions will open up for you if you do. Resist the urge to see this film from a heterosexual point of view, and you will move deeper into the truth of what is happening, and you won't trip yourself up as much.

Imagine watching "Roots" and spending all your energy justifying the actions of the slave traders instead of paying attention to the magnificent LeVar Burton. That's just wrong.




by - spottedreptile (Sat Jan 28 2006 17:26:51 )

I thought Cassie's character was very good. She was sparky, fun, honest and knew what she wanted and went after it. In many ways she was like Jack. Maybe that's why Ennis was attracted to her, she reminded him of Jack, a little.
I love the first scene where she drags him on to the dance floor, and says "I'm Cassie. Cassie Cartwright." Ennis says "Ennis," and then there's this long beat, and he adds wryly "Del Mar."

Made me laugh heaps. Ennis has quite a dry sense of humour. Also shows he's thinking back to that original meeting with Jack.

Cassie serves lots of purposes. She was with Ennis for quite some time, enough for Alma Jr to get a bit upset about the thought of having her around permanently. Almr Jr tries to move in with Ennis when it becomes evident Cassie wants to settle down with him. Alma Jr tries to prevent it, maybe because she doesn't think Cassie is right for Ennis, maybe because she knows her father is secretly gay, who knows?

Cassie also shows Ennis TRYING to have a relationship with a woman, but it just won't work for him. He knows he's not relationship material, and he's sorry for it, not uncaring, not selfish, just knows he's not a good bargain. I think it's part of a period of self-realization from Ennis, that he's condemned to a long life of solitude, with Jack or without him.




by - brown19 (Sat Jan 28 2006 17:31:11 )

This is really what I was saying too.




by - flashframe777 (Sat Jan 28 2006 17:38:39 )
UPDATED Sat Jan 28 2006 17:40:12

that's why Ennis was attracted to her

When did that happen?

I'd like to know how I missed it. Or are you just referring to Ennis mimicking an attraction to her. That, I can understand in this context.




by - Jamessemaj12 (Sat Jan 28 2006 17:48:29 )

No , the prologue is set in the future, by the tone of it I would say yrs into the future and also mention of his GREY public hair supports the idea that he was much older than 39 as the story opens. Then we are transported back in time almost like reliving the happy times of Ennis through his memory.
Mind you this isn't the scenario in the original story but the prologue she later wrote.
I wish they had included the prologue in the film but I also understand WHY they ddidn't. To show Ennis alone in the beginning a man of some yrs now would make the viewer think at some point in the movie JACK is dead but the way it was played in the movie and the original story it hits you out of left field.
I have often asked myself WHY Proulx wrote that prologue and now I know it's because she intended the story to be a tragedy in every sense of the word. Not only was the death of Jack a tragedy but so was the life of Ennis and the only happiness the two protagonists knew was loving one another.
I remember hearing or seeing her say essentially this recently in an interview as well .




by - flashframe777 (Sat Jan 28 2006 18:15:41 )

This may be a surprise...but one can have a few grey pubic hairs when they're 39.




by - spottedreptile (Sat Jan 28 2006 18:20:34 )

When did that happen?

I'd like to know how I missed it. Or are you just referring to Ennis mimicking an attraction to her. That, I can understand in this context.

Well, yes. Not really an attraction as in what he had for Jack, but I think he is attracted to those traits of Cassie that remind him of Jack. And maybe that's a way for Ennis to connect with Jack when he's apart from him, so maybe Cassie is, in part at least, a Jack substitute. But not the real thing, as we find out.




by - monimm18 (Sat Jan 28 2006 18:22:31 )

Just posted this as a thread of my own, then I saw yours, cancelled my thread and moved here, cause it's more fun.

I think Cassie's character has a deeper meaning than just a victim in the film, although I really felt for her.

I think her character serves three major purposes:

First, as it was said, to show that Ennis is really not attracted to women.

Second, to show the internal struggle he lives with. Ennis carries an incredibly heavy burden: he is a homosexual man who was not only raised to be straight, but almost conditioned to be homophobic. He would never try to be with another man, mainly because he loves Jack, who is his soulmate, but also because that would force him to admit he likes men. So, he accepts a woman's attention because it's a behavior that he was taught, even though it's not his own, and when away from Jack he does everything like a straight guy.
Eventually, the fight at the lake with Jack forces him to fully face who he is and the fact that he is using Cassie to pretend being straight. I found it quite suggestive that he breaks up with her after that heartwrenching fight with Jack.

The third reason for Cassie's existance in the movie is the most important to me. It clears Ennis of any blame about marrying Alma and deceiving her. It proves he had no idea what he was supposed to do or what the implications of his marriage to Alma would be; he went ahead and did it because he thought that's what society expects from a man, any man.
When Cassie came along he didn;'t reject her at first, partly out of need to hide his sexuality, partly because he didn't want to hurt her feelings, and partly because he was trying to lie to himself that he is not unattracted to women. But, once he realized she was taking him seriously and wanted to marry him, he cut it off. The experience with Alma taught him what he didn't know twenty years ago; the fight with Jack made him face who he really was.

At that point, knowing better, he wouldn't repeat with Cassie what happened with Alma.




by - WLH-V (Sat Jan 28 2006 18:52:51 )

What puropose does Cassie serve?

In one word: "Faghag!"




by - Ellemeno (Mon Jan 30 2006 22:26:43 )

What puropose does Cassie serve?

In one word: "Faghag!"

Hey Will and Dre, I gotta tell you, I really find that term so offensive and really insulting. Just felt I had to speak up.




by - cpaultwin (Mon Feb 13 2006 16:16:52 )

In addition to show that Ennis can't be with anyone else (especially other women), Cassie is there to show that people can't always tell if someone is gay or not.

Remember Ennis was talking with Jack by the fire one night, and asking him if he felt like everyone was watching him? The fact that Cassie hits on Ennis in the bar shows that you can't tell a person's sexuality just by looking at them.




by - anml-lvr (Mon Feb 13 2006 16:21:19 )

To show just how much Ennis doesn't want to be with a woman. I mean she is attractive and throwing herself onto him and he isn't interested.
Also to show that his daughter Alma Jr knows he isn't the marrying kind..




by - valerie_lp (Mon Feb 13 2006 16:43:59 )

To underscore Ennis's lousy taste in women. They pick him, I have a feeling; he don't pick them.

[Scenario: meeting your boyfriend's daughter (only about 10 years younger than you) for the very first time on her custody weekend. What might you say?]

-------
MY VERSION: Um, well, so...what are your hobbies and interests? Tell me about your school.

--------
CASSIE'S VERSION: Let's talk about me and my potential future as your stepmother.

Yeeeeesh.




by - carmenjonze-1 (Mon Feb 13 2006 17:00:17 )

cassie to me is a classic red herring.




by - zigzo_pazoru (Wed Feb 15 2006 00:12:10 )

Exactly




by - krbroussa (Wed Mar 15 2006 00:46:46 )

You are right, she is only mentioned in the short story and has no name. The only line about her in the short story is, "Ennis said he'd been putting the blocks to a woman whod worked part-time at the Wolf Ears bar in Signal where he was working now for Stoutamire's cow and calf outfit, but it wasn't going anywhere, and she had some problems he didn't want ". This is actually turned into a line for Ennis' character in the movie, although altered somewhat. However, the short story is only 28 pages, and, to make a 2-hour+ movie, you have to greatly expand on material that may be only one sentence in the story. There are whole sections of dialogue in the movie that is simply sentences in the short story.

Cassie serves to show that Ennis still feels, because of his fears, he must live an openly heterosexual lifestyle, even after all of these years. However, he cannot fully return the love that Cassie gave him because his one, true love is Jack. She is therefore another victim of what author Annie Proulx has clearly stated, the destructive rural homophobia that is the foundation of the story. The author's point is that homophobia is not only destructive to same-sex partners but also to their family, friends, etc.

As far as the motel scene, Ms. Proulx states in her essay in the book Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay, "In the written story the motel scene, after a 4-year hiatus, stood as central. During the few hours in the Motel Siesta (in the short story), Jack's and Ennis' paths were irrevocably laid out. In the film that Ang Lee had already shaped in his mind, the emotional surge contained in that scene would be better shifted to a later point and melded with the men's painful last meeting. I didn't understand this until I saw the film in September 2005 and recognized the power of this timing." That is why the motel scene is much shorter in the movie and some of the dialogue shifted to much later in the film.

Perhaps someone has an idea why a lot of the other dialogue in the motel scene in the short story was left out of movie?




by - taj_e (Wed Mar 15 2006 01:35:50 )
UPDATED Tue Apr 25 2006 05:09:09

I must say Cassie was superb even for a 'small' role
Ennis has always been faithful to Jack in a sense he wasn't looking around as obvious as Jack was (perhaps wasn't at all)
The fact that Ennis brought up Cassie to Jack (after been asked), Jack must have known better that there's no chance for Ennis to be able to love anyone else other than himself (almost like a 'disability' on Ennis side). Jack would have 'pitied' him (and himself) and to cheer up Ennis, he made a joke (a lie actually) about Randall's wife, but he was also trying to par up by stating the truth that 'he missed Ennis so much, he couldn't stand it'
And all lies and truth was exposed the next day




by - pipedream (Wed Mar 15 2006 05:29:03 )
UPDATED Fri Mar 24 2006 05:01:07

I found one thing during Cassie's and Ennis' first conversation very striking:
When she asked him what he did for a living, he answered that earlier that day had been castrating calves. Why didn't he just say he was a ranch hand? Of course it has a meaning. To castrate a calf means to turn in into a sexless being, only there to live and eat, put on weight and someday get eaten.
At that point in his life Ennis sort of was like a sexless being himself: his life reduced to mere existence, being there only to eat and drink, smoke, sleep, go to work and pay for the kids. He was only a shell of a human being and a shadow of his former self, except for the time he could spend with Jack. However, these occasions were obviously getting even rarer as years went by. Their happy days were positively numbered.

Remember the supermarket scene? Before he leaves Alma with the kids he says he would have to be there when the cows were going to calve: New life to be born, happy days with Jack still ahead! Upcoming opportunities to seize!
Later on, he only had to castrate the beasts and you can tell even his job was getting more and more depressing.

Poor Cassie. She had met the wrong guy at the wrong time. Nobody would have made the way into his heart at that stage. It was useless.

(edit/update: I just copied this to the BBM symbolism-thread)




by - taj_e (Sat Mar 18 2006 11:09:11 )
UPDATED Tue Apr 25 2006 05:09:34

pipedream
I also see this as Ennis lack of social interaction or perhaps simply to shut himself from falling in love nor to be loved
Cassie persisted (bravo to her), the castrate thing doesn't work with her lol she went for foot massage 'what are you doing?'

Sometimes I wonder which was better Alma knowing the truth or Cassie being clueless? 'I don't get you Ennis del Mar?'




by - pipedream (Sat Mar 18 2006 11:20:15 )

Somehow Cassie seems to embody Ennis' last connection to the so-called "normal" society and his last chance to join a different life. With her gone his fate is sealed. From here on he will always be a loner - lost to the world, alone with the memory of his beloved. How sad.




by - taj_e (Sat Mar 18 2006 11:25:01 )

I choose to believe a 'happy ending' that the story ended in a redemptive way
It was sad yes, but I'd hope that Ennis accept this grace (Jack died and must have wanted the best for Ennis) and that they're still people who loves him ie. Alma Jr, Jack's mother and hopefully he will be able to love and be loved again




by - loubyloo3 (Sun Apr 9 2006 15:06:30 )

Was Cassie there to show that Ennis was too involved in Jack to have a relationship with anyone else or to show that Ennis was unable to have a relaionship with a woman?




by - catglith (Sun Apr 9 2006 15:42:29 )
UPDATED Sat Apr 22 2006 15:37:42

I apologise if this has already been said, but in some interview with the scriptwriters, Diana mentioned how Cassie was there to show how Ennis was still denying his 'emotional make up' and trying to have the type of relationship that he thought he should have (namely with a woman). She then went on to add that it was after the final lake scene that he realised it was Jack he truly loved, and so couldn't continue trying to have a relationship with her.

Which of course, makes me sad, because if he had finally realised Jack was the only one for him and that he loved him, Ennis must have constantly regretted never getting the chance to tell him. Great, i'm going to start crying again....




by - crissttigaldames (Sun Apr 9 2006 21:56:49 )

Wow... that's really sad...
I guess I hadn't considered that Ennis may actually have been seriously thinking about his relationship with Jack after the lake scene... hadn't guessed that he might have actually been thinking about giving Jack and himself a chance to have what they needed... I didn't guess that maybe he had finished his relationship with that woman because of that.

About the purpouse of her in the film, I had assumed it was to show how he kept trying to pretend. But, of course, I agree that is also to show his desinterest in women. And what he was thinking, as I said above.




by - latjoreme (Sun Apr 9 2006 22:28:14 )

She then went on to add that it was after the final lake scene that he realised it was Jack he truly loved, and so couldn't continue trying to have a relationship with her.

The first time I saw the movie I thought the scene where Cassie shows up while Ennis is eating pie was just about the saddest thing ever (course, I hadn't gotten to the end yet). I realized how much Ennis really, really, really loved Jack and didn't know what to do about it, but at least knew there was no use pretending otherwise and had resigned himself to a lifetime of lonely pie eating.

Cassie came onto Ennis so strongly (and who wouldn't?) and his response was so passive and unenthusiastic that I thought all along their relationship served to illustrate how much Ennis was not interested in anyone else. The scene when they're out with Alma Jr. and Ennis plays the Allman Brothers' "Sweet Melissa" on the jukebox pretty much summed it up for me: Knowing many, loving one/ sharing sorrows, having fun/but back home he'll always run to sweet Melissa (ie., Jack).




by - doelcm (Fri Apr 21 2006 10:05:40 )

"Only connect."

That's my favorite book (and my favorite movie, too).

[TOoP/Bruce]

What purpose does CASSIE serve? --- by Kd5000 --- 3 of 3

by - clancypants (Fri Apr 21 2006 14:30:25 )
UPDATED Sat Apr 22 2006 12:11:34

I agree with a lot of what's been written above.

However, I believe that Cassie delivered the most pivotal line in the film and this is what purpose I believe she serves:

All throughout their relationship, Ennis never could admit to himself (or to Jack) that the two men had fallen in love with each other. Ennis sidestepped this by describing their relationship as (paraphrasing) "this thing that grabs hold of us." When Jack would say something akin to "I love you," such as "Tell you what. The truth is… sometimes I miss you so much, I can hardly stand it," Ennis' reaction is one of "hey, c'mon, you're gettin' a bit girly on me, Jack." Jack lied about the ranch foreman's wife (really the ranch foreman himself) not because Ennis would be jealous if Ennis would find out that Jack had had a relationship with another man; rather, because Ennis' notion that their relationship wasn't love -- he felt it was a thing that grabs them and that they can't control it -- would crumble and Ennis would be faced with the truth -- that Jack and Ennis himself are gay. Ennis viewed their relationship not so much as love, but as fun. In the final scene at the lake, Ennis doesn't try to calm Jack down by saying "c'mon, we're in love here, bud." He offers going off and shooting an elk and staying in the cabin, as they had done before, and says "We had a good time that year didn't we?" He couches their relationship in terms of fun to avoid the possibility that it's love.

Now on to Cassie ---

When she's crying across from Ennis in the bus depot, he tells her that he's sorry and that he probably wasn't that much fun anyway.

Cassie gives him a look of disbelief and then delivers the film's most pivotal line: "Ennis, girls don’t fall in love with fun."

Cassie serves as the switch to the light bulb that's been turned off over Ennis' head for the last twenty years. But with that one line, the light bulb comes on and Ennis suddenly realizes that to Jack, their relationship wasn't just about fun. It was about love. Notice his expression immediately following Cassie's line. I have never seen Ennis look so introspective.

The notion that Jack actually loved Ennis is further reinforced when Ennis finds the shirts in the closet at Jack's boyhood home. Ennis is so shocked at finding those shirts, at finding that Jack actually took them both and kept them as reminders of their time on the mountain, that he almost got his ignorant ass knocked into next week.

The theme of the movie is Ennis' inability to accept that which he is and that which his relationship with Jack was, the destructive effects of rural homophobia. Cassie serves as the pivot point in turning Ennis to look at himself in the mirror and see what he has not allowed himself to see for the last twenty years.

Cassie rocks!




by - taj_e (Tue Apr 25 2006 05:44:39 )
UPDATED Fri Apr 28 2006 01:07:04

Great post clancypants
I do believe that Ennis knew Cassie did love him
Of course you're right when you said...

***Cassie serves as the pivot point in turning Ennis to look at himself in the mirror and see what he has not allowed himself to see for the last twenty years***

He must have realised how he had hurt Cassie (and Jack's outbursts might have made more sense then). Not because he wasn't worth it, but because he was loved and he was unable to love back in return

I think Cassie is just another Alma (different character), a further proof on Ennis inability to love another

I had this wild idea, had Jack decided not to quit on Ennis earlier (and well alive), Ennis might bring up Cassie's case and maybe, just maybe their relationship will work after all

I'm not sure if this has been discussed. When Cassie had her legs placed on Ennis's lap, Ennis said 'what are you doing?'
The first tent scene, Ennis asked the same question
(Ennis also remembered to introduce himself proper by giving his full name lol)
Almost a naive question which decribe Ennis character. Sincerely shy
I wanted to say that he knew what Cassie (or Jack earlier) meant but maybe not at all




by - taj_e (Wed Apr 26 2006 19:58:25 )

Bump
I can say Lureen rocks too...




by - BrokebackGirl (Wed Apr 26 2006 20:38:15 )

Clancypants- I thought the same thing. When she told him that she didn't go with him for fun, that was when he realized Jack wasn't fun but a real relationship. I think he decided to finally make the first move by sending a postcard to Jack about November. That scene with the pie really made a big impact on me. He was so alone and Cassie was so hurt by him. My heart really ached but I felt it was really a pivotal scene for Ennis. Cassie actually helped him see what Jack was to him and what a relationship should have.




by - hsuvera (Fri Apr 28 2006 00:48:16 )

I wonder if my following view point has been posted by others before?

During the last get-togather Ennis broke down and asked Jack to let him be.
So after this fight scence Ennis should have had the change to let himself be.
But instead he quitted Cassie. The scene at bus diner just to clear up Ennis is Ennis. What happened in his life was due to his own charactor and personality by which his father "done the job".

Though he asked Jack to let him be, still Ennis send the card to Jack for next meeting. If Jack is still alive they might just go on forever.




by - clancypants 1 day ago (Fri May 19 2006 14:20:48 )

It's interesting to me that Junior told Cassie that Cassie was good enough. As if she was saying that Cassie was good enough to provide Ennis with the illusion of being interested in women.




by - taj_e 1 day ago (Fri May 19 2006 14:27:08 )

It's interesting to me that Junior told Cassie that Cassie was good enough. As if she was saying that Cassie was good enough to provide Ennis with the illusion of being interested in women

I think Cassie got it right lol
'You don't say much, but you got your point across'
'On your feet, cowboy'
Almost wanting to prove Jnr was wrong or maybe to convince herself




by - zanmorrow 1 day ago (Fri May 19 2006 14:49:25 )

"I wish there had been more scenes of Jack and Ennis interacting in the film. "
- I agree with this comment 100%. It was the one thing that made me feel a little disappointed." (I don't know how to do that thing where you put copied text above a line.)

I thought that was the point - never enough time - so that each time you re-watch you just wish there was more, exactly as they did.

Also re the poster far above who wondered why Linda Cardelina wasn't given so much media attention - because she was the local waitress, loose woman - even tho she had as much screen time as Lureen if not more. That is a really interesting point, and as you say - because she's not the wife. The more I think about that the madder I get - I had never even thought about it before.




by - taj_e 1 day ago (Sat May 20 2006 08:07:24 )

I think in the credits she was first mentioned then the other two, Hathaway (hope I got it right) and Williams




by - revolution-hk 1 day ago (Sat May 20 2006 08:11:53 )

becoz Cardellini, Hathaway, Williams are in alphabetical order?




by - taj_e 1 day ago (Sat May 20 2006 08:40:25 )

Not really, Ledger, Gyllenhall?
Really, it was similar as why Kevin Spacey was mentioned first in LA Confidential




by - mg501 23 hours ago (Sat May 20 2006 08:57:29 )

It's just too time consuming to read all the comments on every thread. If this has already been said... sorry for the repeat.

I think Cassie was put into the story because she further underscored Ennis' deep feelings for Jack. If Ennis was bisexual and if he thought Jack was just a fling, I am sure he would have either stayed in a physical relationship with Cassie or he would have married her while continuing his rendezvous with Jack. Instead he basically dumped Cassie while he was still intending to continue seeing Jack. (Even if it was only once or twice a year.) I think Cassie's presence in the story, and Ennis' ending reaction to her, said a lot about where Ennis' true affections were.




by - LisaSeng 12 hours ago (Sat May 20 2006 20:39:45 )

Perhaps that is why it is there, but if that is, then I feel it trivializes people's relationships.

There is a million beautiful people out there, not everyone does it for every person.

I personally think that he is way too caught up in the baggage of both his relationships - both with Jack and Alma to be open for a new relationship.

Re: What purpose does CASSIE serve? --- by Kd5000   
  by Clyde-B   (Thu May 10 2007 05:49:25 )   
   
Anyone who has gone through what Ennis went through realizes that it is a process of denying the truth until it is screaming so loudly it just can’t be ignored anymore. Chipping away the self-deceit one small piece at a time.

I think Cassie represents Ennis’s final desperate attempt to deny who he is. He knows enough of the truth by now to no longer consider marriage. He doesn’t want to drag Cassie into a lie. The way his relationship with women is portrayed in the movie, he has obvioulsy cared about them both, but has been ‘in love’ with neither of them.

The lake scene is portrayed as changing nothing, but anyone who has lived through something that intense knows that whether you realize it or not, things will never be the same.

For Ennis, it means seeing this last pretense with Cassie for what it is and giving it up. By doing this he gets our hopes up that maybe, just maybe, eventually, he can come to terms with who he is and things between he and Jack really may work out.

This small surge of hope intensifies, for the audience, the tragedy of Jack’s death. To lose everything, just when he might have been getting close.

Re: What purpose does CASSIE serve? --- by Kd5000   
  by garycottle   (Thu May 10 2007 06:28:14 )   
   
Clyde-B that was very insightful. I had thought that the only reason Ennis turned his back on Cassie was because of depression and a growing sense of worthlessness. But you're right, he very well may have come to the conclusion that it was simply wrong for him to string this girl along. He may have finally accepted the fact that he was never going to love a woman. I never thought about it in those terms before.

 
Gary

(Spoiler) Ennis finally makes the first move   
  by True_Oracle_of_Phoenix   (Thu May 10 2007 06:54:10 )   
      
UPDATED Thu May 10 2007 06:54:51
Clyde-B wrote: By doing this he gets our hopes up that maybe, just maybe, eventually, he can come to terms with who he is and things between he and Jack really may work out.

This small surge of hope intensifies, for the audience, the tragedy of Jack’s death.


Yes.

And for the first time in the movie, Ennis initiates a reunion with Jack by postcard (rather than following Jack's lead), only to have it returned to him marked "deceased."

Re: (Spoiler) Ennis finally makes the first move   
  by garycottle   (Thu May 10 2007 09:11:59 )   
   
OMG! TOoP, you and Clyde are putting Ennis in a whole new light for me.

And for the first time in the movie, Ennis initiates a reunion with Jack by postcard (rather than following Jack's lead), only to have it returned to him marked "deceased."

I had never really thought about that. Gosh, if Ennis was starting to gain some ground before he knew Jack was dead that makes me want to cry. Poor Ennis!

Gary

Re: Cassie finally got through nursing school   
  by Clyde-B   (Thu May 10 2007 19:36:16 )   

Thanks Gary,

You've contributed so many insights it's nice to be able to give back a little.

P.S. Sweet Cassie (Linda Cardellini) who "wants to go to nursing school" has been Nurse Sam on E.R. since 2003.