Hey there Friends,
I'm like Diane, I like to believe it was love at first sight (even if it was almost subconscious... or completely inarticulate for Ennis at first). I think those shirts are meant to be such huge symbols in the film that (along with the extremely long amount of time we spend watching the boys silently interact during the opening) they must mean something even at this early stage. I think the layering issue is really interesting. (Katherine, I know this is a topic you're fond of... Didn't you once suggest that the fewer the layers of clothing the more connected the boys feel to one another, or the more emotionally open a character is being at a given time?) In this discussion, it really does seem important to note how many layers poor, clueless Alma is wearing in contrast to Jack on the mountain. But, layering also seems important in the opening interaction between Ennis and Jack. Jack already has one layer less of clothing on... His blue shirt is his outer layer and Ennis has his jacket on over his magic shirt. This trend has been noted elsewhere... that Jack is usually positioned one step ahead of Ennis in many regards (literally... he's in the front during the herding, he leads Ennis to the bar, he makes the first move, etc.) and this often corresponds to his state of dress and/ or undress in comparison to Ennis. It never occured to me, until just now, to take note of this trend during these very beginning moments of the film.