Well, it made *me* go hunh? in terms of the actual straightforward storyline. It still does.
Of course there is symbolism galore in it, as in every little thing in the film. That wasn't what gave me pause. Their trick was to make the symbolism meld seamlessly with a realistic narrative, something they normally achieved unbelievably well. IMO this is not one of those places.
There is also the point that for whatever Hollywood reason, each of the four "principles" has a nude--or at least seminude--scene. We've seen Heath nude, so we have to (get to
) see Jake nude. We see Michelle's breasts, so we have to see Ann's breasts.
Oh, and BTW, the use of this smilie
doesn't mean I find the sight of the women's breasts distasteful. It is to indicate that I think it's kind of stupid that "they had to do this," give each star a nude/seminude scene, whether or not it was necessary to the plot. And I guess that's the definition of "gratuitous nudity." As happy as I am to see Jake Gyllenhaal nude, or even only seminude, and regardless of any symbolism that may be superimposed on it, for me the scene of Jack doing the laundry in the altogether is completely unnecessary. By contrast, the view of Heath "warshing" in the background while Jake peels potatoes--and the muscle in his jaw twitches
--is important to advance the plot--and, moreover, it comes right out of Annie Proulx's text.