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Ennis/Jack/both; book/movie/both?

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nakymaton:
Just to try to make a thread that's as complicated as the "age and favorite cowboy" thread, here's another attempt to sort out correlations.

Which do you like better, movie or book... or do you like them both equally?
Which character do you like better, Ennis or Jack... or do you like them both equally?

Mikaela:
Mine is the "prefer movie to book, like both men equally" vote. I like the movie better for several reasons, not all of them high-brow and some outright shallow: The stronger early emphasis in the film on the love/romance angle through TS2 and other scenes,  the way the film presents both men as more loving and caring fathers than the book does, the captivating scenery and visuals throughout the film (skies, landscapes, colors....) that the story can't rival, the way the film has been expanded to let us get to know Lureen and Alma, among others, and the fact that both men look downright hot in the film, while in the story...not so much.

Don't get me wrong - I do love the story and am particularly impressed with its utterly non-sentimental attitude throughout and its ability to convey lifetimes of emotions and experiences in mere paragraphs; its clarity concerning the relationship in later years, -  the film wins marginally, not by miles.

As for Ennis and Jack - oh, I love them both, and equally. Well, sometimes they frustrate me both - and equally, although for differing reasons. Simply can't have the one without the other.  :-*

David:
I liked the book, but some of the scenes in the book disturbed me.   Jacks Dad peeing on him,  Ennis peeing in the sink of his trailer, ugh, so low class.      But otherwise the book was fine.   

The movie was visually spectacular.   And of course Jack and Ennis were far better looking than the characters in the book!   Yes, I'm shallow I guess.

I liked both Jack and Ennis equally if not for different reasons.

Where is the sequal?     :)

nakymaton:
I guess I'll say how I voted now -- I voted that I couldn't decide on either. ;D I love the story for its descriptive language: (The mountain boiled with demonic energy, glazed with flickering broken-cloud light, the wind combed the grass and drew from the damaged krummholz and slit rock a bestial drone. or He could smell Jack -- the intensely familiar odor of cigarettes, musky sweat and a faint sweetness like grass, and with it the rushing cold of the mountain.) And for its emotional restraint, for hiding its power in unemotional language. I love the movie for its landscapes and music and for the chance to see every little nuance in the characters through the subtle power of all the acting.

And I like both Ennis and Jack (and yes, am frustrated with both of them) for different reasons, too. (Jack is fascinating because I'm not quite sure what makes him tick; Ennis is fascinating because of all the stuff tangled up in him.) And yeah, there's the both-characters-are-really-hot factor, too. ;D

serious crayons:
Movie and Ennis. Partly for the aforementioned shallow reasons ...  ::) :-*

But also because I think the movie is more complex and interesting. And your question is a good one, Mel, because at least for me the two aren't unrelated: I think Ennis is more complex and interesting in the movie. (Read that sentence any way you like; I find Ennis more interesting than he is in the book, and I find Ennis more interesting -- ducks from hailstorm of tomatoes -- than Jack.)

We've talked about how different Story Ennis and Movie Ennis are, and about how Movie Ennis has more internalized homophobia. That's one of the main things I prefer about the movie (along with more plot development, cuter cowboys, etc.).

The story is about the damage that society's prejudices inflict on people's lives: Story Ennis is afraid to live with Jack for objective and true external reasons -- too dangerous. The movie is about the damage that society's prejudices inflict on people's souls: Ennis is afraid to live with Jack for subjective and false internal reasons -- too shameful.

That said, I do find the writing in the story beautiful. And I'll always be grateful to it for providing the framework for this fantastic movie.

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