Importance of the Jimbo Scene

[Brown Eyes]

Something today got me thinking about the significance that the Jack/ Jimbo scene might have in the context of the main dilemma that Ennis and Jack face in coming to terms with their relationship.

One thing we don't see Jack and Ennis struggling with is finding each other.  They encounter numerous obstacles to their relationship as we well know, but finding the ideal partner for one another comes to them easily and is basically not an issue.  From the very beginning in my reactions to BBM, I've always felt that Jack and Ennis were very lucky in many ways.  And, I think I'd count two of the main ways that they're lucky as (1) that they found each other so young and (2) that they had a passionate relationship (even with all it's flaws, shortcomings and disappointments as a relationship... in terms of passion it's a lot more than many people ever experience - gay or straight).

So, it occurs to me that the Jimbo scene (and maybe to a lesser or more subtle extent, the Randall encounter) is important in BBM for illustrating how incredibly frustrating and hard it can be as a gay person to find a partner when you're looking for one.  The odds are always stacked against you in terms of percentages (when gauging whether a desirable person might be similarly gay or bisexual) and, in Jack's particular circumstance, where he has no gay bar to visit (i.e. a place where the guess work is taken out of the equation a bit) the frustration of finding a male partner in his rural/ rodeo world is made pretty clear.

It's interesting to me, because BBM focuses, on the whole, on other kinds of dilemmas with regards to gay characters accepting themselves and accepting their relationship, etc., etc.  We see the desparation that Jack and Ennis feel embroiled in their relationship.  BBM only skims the surface of this other kind of frustration and desparation that can be felt by a gay or lesbian character/ individual... meaning the true dilemma of finding a partner (let alone one's ideal partner) to begin with.  So, the more I think about it, the more I think the inclusion of the Jimbo scene was a brilliant move by the filmmakers in dealing with this subject just a bit.

(Of course there are lots of other ways that the Jimbo scene is significant... the black hat/ white hat interactions in the background, the question about whether the folks playing pool constitute a threat for Jack, etc.  But, I feel like this aspect of the scene... the frustration over finding a partner... hasn't been discussed so much in this context.)

[Gabreya]

I agree. Ennis and Jack loved eachother so much that it was hard to love someone else the same way they did for eachother. Yeah, that scene was to signify how Jack really never got over Ennis and never will.

[Katie77]

I think Jack was putting out "feelers" towards Jimbo......buy him a drink, get talkin, and see if his gaydar picks up on anything.
 
I always feel that when Jimbo goes back to his mates playing pool, that he has told them, that he felt Jack was trying to pick him up. They all seem to look over at him in a curious way. Makes me think, whether Jack may have had a reputaton around the rodeo circuit of approaching the boys. And he seemed a bit OUT of the general crowd, not part of the group, no one to drink with. Was that because the rodeo crowd had picked up on him?

And when he got so shitty, with the bartender, it was like, "Im sick of the lot of you"......

And what was the comment those blokes made, when they were in the office with Laureen and they recognised Jack from the rodeos?......

Seemed like the only time Jack was really happy and comfortable was when he was with Ennis...and the same for Ennis when he was with Jack. No matter how much they tried to fit in or settle into all the other parts of their life, it just didn't work out.

[retropian]

Interesting points. I had always thought that the Jimbo scene represented Jacks attempt to find a potential substitute for Ennis. Consciously or not Jack approaches someone who physically resembles Ennis. At least his attire is the same, so maybe he's the same too? I think Jacks failure with Jimbo symbolizes his failure to replace Ennis. It also is another example of Jacks refusal to quit and willingness to take a risk.

[Katie77]

Do you really think he was looking for a replacement for Ennis, or just someone who he could have a drink with which may lead to more.

At the time Jack approached Jimbo, it was during the four years that he did not have any contact with Ennis, so he did not know if there was ever going to be any future with Ennis at that time.

I think the scene shows us, that during that time, Jack was approaching other men, and maybe sometimes he got lucky, but this time he did not.
Maybe he just wanted to be "one of the boys", wanted someone to have a drink and a chat with. Thats why when eventually Laureen started flirting with him and paid him some attention, he grabbed it, even though it wasnt exactly the gender he was really looking  for.

I do think with Randall, that that was a replacement, or more the opportunity to have someone nearby who he could "camp" out with or go "fishing" with, and maybe have a future with, as he had told his father, that they might move up there.

If times were different and opportunities more frequent, I think Jack would have been very promiscuous. The "high altitude fucks, once or twice a year" with Ennis were not enough for Jack. He needed more sex than that,  and if he could have got it he would have. And when he didn't get it for free, he went to Mexico.

But I doubt if he ever would have had the feelings and love for anyone else other than Ennis.

[Brown Eyes]

I think that during these 4 years before the reunion that Jack was trying to find an Ennis replacement.  I doubt he had much of an inkling that the relationship with Ennis would be rekindled during most of those 4 years.

In the past there's been discussion about Jimbo being somewhat similar to Ennis in appearance (he wears a white cowboy hat, wears an Ennis-type shirt, has a similar build, etc.)... which to me signals that Jack was looking for a substitute Ennis.  Similarly, in the Mexico scene when he walks down the alley way, he's in fact following another man who could be seen as a pale substitute for Ennis (the other man has a white hat on, pale clothing, etc.).  His motivation at the time of the Mexico scene I think is much different than the Jimbo scene.  In the Jimbo scene Jack probably feels that he's mostly completely autonomous and independent.  In the Mexico and in the Randall scenes he knows he's embroiled in a complicated relationship with Ennis.

In the Jimbo scene, I don't think it at all trying to be "just one of the boys" hanging out for a beer.  I think that he was trying his hardest to flirt and to try to pick Jimbo up under the uncomfortable glare of the bartender watching.  To me it looks like Jake Gyllenhaal is working his eyes for all they're worth in that scene to try to convey the idea of flirting.

[mariez]

... But, I feel like this aspect of the scene... the frustration over finding a partner... hasn't been discussed so much in this context.)

Thank you for this very thoughtful post, Amanda.  You've given me an additional perspective, and I always like that!  I'd always thought of the "Jimbo scene" as the screenwriters' way of inserting the information we get from this little bit of conversation from the reunion as written in the short story:

...You do it with other guys? Jack?”

“Shit no,” said Jack, who had been riding more than bulls, not rolling his own.

Of course, this brings to my mind one of the differences between the ss and the film.  Jack struck out with Jimbo in the film. According to ss, he didn't always strike out, but if someone hadn't read the story, I'm not sure they would get that impression from the film alone.

Marie

[Mandy21]

I always interpreted that scene as an act of humiliation from "society" towards Jack.  A judgment on him.  And he left, feeling lower than low.  And then the next night he goes back, and it's an entirely different game, and all of a sudden, he's the star quarterback, so to speak, and the prom queen is all over him.  I thought that the point of those two scenes was the dichotomy of how your life can change, from hell to heaven, in the blink of an eye.  Even though it wasn't exactly hell, and even though she didn't turn out to be heaven for him.  It was just like meeting Ennis.  Jack was just plodding along, scraping by, living without real love day after day after day, and then -- BOOM -- Ennis comes into view.  And everything Jack ever knew before all his life, has changed irrevocably.

[rlh03]

I often wondered, too, about this scene.  Ennis was gone, Jack wasn't sure where; but I think he knew how much he loved Ennis, even then.  He was heartsick, being alone, always  thinking of Ennis, Ennis, Ennis.  Maybe he was trying to get luchy in the Jimbo scene, and there were probably other scenes the same. but I think he was really in the throes of despair.  These others, when they were, satisfied a physical thing, but also let him feel and imagine for just those brief moments, that  he was again with his Ennis.  And once it was over and  he was alone again, he was alone still.

[Katie77]

Maybe its just an explanation showing, that he was not having much luck with the boys, and why he finally ended up with a woman.

He had probably taken the Jimbo thing as how it was always gonna be, if he wanted a man.....it was all too hard..(excuse the pun)....so when Laureen started flirting, and it was so much easier, he fell into it.

Two such different nights....one of rejection and almost humiiliation with Jimbo.......the next night, handed to him on a platter.

As he danced with Laureen, and the song was playing "No ones gonna love you like me".....Jack was daydreaming about someone else, another time, another place, but realized that in the real world, this is what was expected and this was how it was gonna have to be.....