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Exactly WHEN does Jack decide.. th 1st tent scene..is gonna be th 1s tent scene?
Brown Eyes:
I think the "I haven't yet had the opportunity" statement was a clear as a bell signal from Ennis. Especially since it was accompanied by deliberate, direct eye contact. It's that very same night that Jack gives Ennis the opporunity. Also, that little bit of music that punctuates Ennis's little confession here, I think is meant to be a clue to the audience that this line is important (and may even be Ennis's awkward attempt at flirting).
Well, at the very beginning when Jack drapes himself against his truck, he may not know that he got a reaction from Ennis... But, Ennis does take the opportunity to look Jack over and he keeps checking him out with "stolen glances" so to speak.
Aussie Chris:
--- Quote from: atz75 on April 24, 2006, 08:17:06 am ---I think the "I haven't yet had the opportunity" statement was a clear as a bell signal from Ennis. Especially since it was accompanied by deliberate, direct eye contact. It's that very same night that Jack gives Ennis the opporunity. Also, that little bit of music that punctuates Ennis's little confession here, I think is meant to be a clue to the audience that this line is important (and may even be Ennis's awkward attempt at flirting).
--- End quote ---
And wasn't there a little noise that Jack makes at this time? It's not words so I can't spell it out here, but to me it's a cheeky noise almost like a "you don't say" or even a little bit like a dare.
--- Quote ---Well, at the very beginning when Jack drapes himself against his truck, he may not know that he got a reaction from Ennis... But, Ennis does take the opportunity to look Jack over and he keeps checking him out with "stolen glances" so to speak.
--- End quote ---
Oh there were lots of looks that Ennis gives Jack. Also, I know it's not the film, but I've been reading the 2003 version of the screenplay, and there are many little references to Ennis "warming up" to Jack, even so far as explicitly saying that Ennis had never enjoyed himself in his life. Somehow that translated to a stoic glace by the time it was filmed.
Pipedream:
--- Quote from: Aussie Chris on April 24, 2006, 03:10:25 am ---when we get into the tent there's that lovely little pan of the camera showing how close Jack had scootered over. But this is where is gets a little harder (no pun). Was there a master plan?
--- End quote ---
I'd say, Jack hadn't only scootered over but even wrapped Ennis in his bedroll. When Ennis first comes into the tent he lays down with his own blanket. After the shot to the full moon they are both under one. No plan on Jack's part? Hmmm...
:P
ednbarby:
I think that "I haven't yet had the opportunity" is very significant, too. For a young man to admit to another that he is a virgin is *HUGE*. And the direct eye-contact, so rare for Ennis to begin with, is definitely flirting on his part. Even my husband noticed this and has commented on it since - that that's when Jack got "the go-ahead." To me, that and of course Ennis opening up to him about his childhood not long before.
Alcohol removes our inhibitions. It makes us more of what we already are. Jack knows this, and he has spent a great deal of time reading Ennis. Tipsy or not himself, he knows with a good degree of certainty that Ennis won't rebuff him when he finally goes for it. Think of the monumental risk he's taking - if Ennis is straight or homophobic enough as to flip out when he makes a pass at him, he might beat the hell out of him at worst or at best leave the mountain because of it.
I think it's all by design on Jack's part. Just like ingratiating himself into the camp in the first place is. I don't think it's getting Ennis to switch with him that he's after in that conversation - it's getting him to invite him to stay. Like Lureen, he sees what he wants from the beginning and he goes after it. He's just a lot more cunning about it than she is. Really, because he has to be.
serious crayons:
Great thread, Julie! I can't believe we haven't hashed this out before, because it's such a key issue, and there seem to be a lot of different opinions. Here's mine: Jack made his decision outside Aguirre's trailer; Ennis made his inside the tent.
Jack is attracted to Ennis the moment he jumps out of his truck, and resolves to look for an opportunity to make his move. He characteristically goes after what he wants, but in this area he hasn't honed his approach much -- just boldly takes his chances. (Later, he tries that with Jimbo and fails.) But he has to wait for the right time. He gives it a shot after the bear incident, but Ennis rebuffs him. So, more waiting. He is encouraged as Ennis opens up to him, perhaps also senses that Ennis is attracted to him. His complaints about the QT camping are partly like his complaints about beans -- he doesn't want to put up with uncomfortable restrictions he considers unfair. But he also realizes that if they fiddle with the sleeping arrangements the opportunity is more likely to arise. And sure enough, it does. I don't see him as deliberately scheming to get Ennis drunk, but he is better able to hold his liquor, so as the evening wears on he sees this may be his chance.
Ennis probably is immediately attracted to Jack, too, but he would never admit it, even to himself. He has trained himself from age 9 to squelch those feelings the instant he becomes conscious of them (I'm assuming he knew before Earl that he liked boys, which made the experience all the more scarring). Meanwhile, he quickly develops an enormous affection for Jack as a friend. He can hardly believe how lucky he is to find someone like this. He's falling in love, though he wouldn't think of it that way. At some level, his physical attraction grows, and though Ennis will not let himself acknowledge it (as when he leans out to watch Jack ride off and then, half a second later, forces himself to turn away), he is also partly aware of it. He probably senses Jack's attraction, too, though he wouldn't let himself think about this, either. I don't interpret "I ain't had the opportunity" as deliberate, conscious flirtation -- I just don't think Ennis is there yet. (You'll think me naive, I'm sure, but I'm not even convinced it's a deliberate admission of virginity.) But maybe it's unwitting flirtation and, in any case, Jack interprets it as such.
So as the night progresses -- the conversation, the flirting, the drunkenness, the cold, the tent -- Jack knows this is his best chance. He cuddles up to Ennis. So far so good. So he makes the big move and repositions Ennis' hand.
When Ennis jerks awake, his first impulse is to go with his 10 years of self-training: denial, anger, pushing Jack away. But then ... he stops. He may be drunk, but his mind is working. Confronted by this powerful attraction, he finally allows himself to consciously acknowledge it. He realizes that he is being offered for something he has always wanted but never in his life expected to have. In that instant, he sets aside everything he has told himself all these years and decides to go for it, to reach out for this one chance. It's a huge turning point for Ennis. That's why I consider this moment (pictured in Julie's jpeg!) perhaps the most powerful five seconds in the movie. He moves toward Jack, grabs onto him and pulls him closer (just as he will do 20 years later by the lake).
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