Note: Even though Ruthlessly is no longer active on BetterMost, I am hopeful s/he is lurking. This thread is dedicated to you, Ruthlessly! I miss you terribly (as does everyone else on this board!) Send me an e-mail if you see this, please!
[email protected]Why is the “dozy embrace” in the film?I have read throughout this forum many POV regarding the “dozy embrace”. I have read that it is an unnecessary plot element; that it is a flaw in Annie’s story. I have also read the exact opposite. Why is this scene viewed so divisively?
The screenplay (which follows the short story almost verbatim) states:
Jack stands by the campfire, warming himself. He stands that way a few moments, alone.
Then we see two arms encircle him from behind: it is Ennis.
They stand that way for a moment, Jack leaning back into Ennis.
Ennis’ breath comes slow and quiet, then he starts to gently rock back and forth a little, lit by the warm fire tossing ruddy chunks of light, the shadows of their bodies a single column against a rock. Ennis hums quietly.
Nothing mars this moment for Jack, even though he knows that Ennis does not embrace him face to face because he does not want to see or feel that it is Jack he holds - - because for now, they are wrapped in a closeness that satisfies some shared and sexless hunger, that is not really sleep but something else drowsy and tranced ….I, for one, believe this scene to be pivotal.
In reviewing the film, there are a number of themes. One is the freedom that BBM represents. It is a symbol of their love for each other … a time and place where they could be themselves without fear of retribution. On BBM, they are emancipated from societal expectations and mores. It is just the two of them. Nothing else in the world matters. Once they come down from the mountain, their idyllic world is shattered.
A secondary theme is Ennis leaving/ turning Jack away. When they are first on BBM, it is Jack who goes out to the sheep. Ultimately, Ennis takes over the responsibility. From the time they first have sex in the tent onward, it is
Ennis who leaves. Examples:
• After TS1, Ennis leaves Jack without saying anything
• Post mountain, Ennis walks away from Jack
• After the reunion, Ennis rejects the idea of having a life with Jack
• Post divorce, Ennis turns Jack away
• ETC.
Note: I am
not saying Ennis never comes back. He obviously does. What I
am saying is that it is
Ennis who does the leaving and
Jack who does the staying.
A third motif is the toll that rural homophobia takes on Jack and Ennis (as well as those who love them …. Alma, Lureen and Cassie). It is this element that is the most painful. Ennis is governed by fear. He cannot face the reality that he is gay and that he loves a man. Ennis has been taught to hate everything he feels. Both Jack and Ennis follow societal expectations. They get married and have children. Ultimately, neither Jack nor Ennis are able to give themselves to anyone else because of their love for each other. Tragically, the society in which they live doesn’t allow them a place where they can deal with their feelings.
****
By the time we reach the lake scene, nearly twenty years have passed. Their lives with each other have been punctuated by pain. Their time on BBM has become a distant memory. Jack’s hope for a life together has long died. All of this history … the torment, the anguish … culminated in their argument the last day they were together. The story and screenplay state:
Like vast clouds of steam from thermal springs in winter, the years of things unsaid and now unsayable - - admissions, declarations, shames, guilts, fears - - rise around them … After Ennis breaks down ….
….. they hug one another, a fierce desperate embrace - - managing to torque things almost to where they had been, for what they’ve just said is no news: as always, nothing ended, nothing begun, nothing resolved.It is after this emotional hammering when Jack recalls the “dozy embrace”. Jack remembers the time when they were young … where it was just the two of them … where they were free to love each other openly. For Jack, it is this closeness he desires.
Again, the story and screenplay state:
… Jack, much older now, watches the pickup truck, and his other half, fade away into the distance, that dozy embrace solidified in his memory as the single moment of artless, charmed happiness in their separate and difficult lives. ****
The controversial element of the “dozy embrace” is the statement, “Nothing mars this moment for Jack, even though he knows that Ennis does not embrace him face to face because he does not want to see or feel that it is Jack he holds.” Yes, Ennis has embraced Jack face to face. They obviously kiss. IMO, this remark means two things:
1. Ennis cannot hold Jack face to face in a moment of emotional intimacy. Think back to the motel scene. Jack is holding Ennis. They are not facing each other. Ennis
is loving. He caresses Jack’s arms a number of times. However, Ennis is
not looking at Jack.
2. This statement refers to Ennis’ state of mind. He cannot “face” the fact that he is gay and that the love of his life is a man.
Annie Proulx’s essay, “Getting Movied” explains the “dozy embrace”:
The most difficult scene was the paragraph where, on the mountain, Ennis holds Jack and rocks back and forth, humming, the moment mixed with childhood loss and his refusal to admit he was holding a man …. I was trying to write the inchoate feelings of Jack and Ennis, the sad impossibility of their liaison ….The “dozy embrace” encompasses a number of themes: the freedom of BBM, Ennis’ homophobia, and lastly, Ennis’ leaving. In the “dozy embrace”, Ennis leaves to go back to the sheep. The sheep symbolize the crowd …. Ennis is one who follows societal norms and expectations. Every time Ennis leaves, he is returning to his life of convenience and fear. Beyond all of that, however, the “dozy embrace” illustrates the depth of their love for each other.
It should also be noted the way Ang Lee films this scene. IMO, it is one of the most beautiful scenes in the entire film. It is shot lovingly. There are very few cuts. Much of the scene is shown in close up. It reflects the intimacy of the moment.