Ennis' reaction to Jack's death.

[Tristann]

I did a quick search through the forums but couldn't find ideas on this topic. If it has been discussed, my apologies.

When Ennis receives the postcard with the words "deceased" on it, we don't get to see any real emotion from Ennis. Also, when he talks on the phone to Maureen, his emotions seem under control. This really bothers me. I don't think an elaborate all-hell-breaks-loose reaction would be appropriate but I really want to see some emotion from Ennis. Do you think that Ang did this deliberately so that the shirt scenes would have more impact? Or are you thinking that it isn't in Ennis' character to show emotion even at this critical moment in his life? Please share your views on this, because, like I said, this really bothers me.

[jpwagoneer1964]

In the book he really doesn't believe it, thinks it's a mistake, hence the call. I do agree that his usual stoic demeanor is protrayed as well.

[Tristann]

Hi Jane, thanks for the welcome and your much appreciated comments on the topic. I only saw the movie last Monday for the first time (It didn't open in our local cinema and was only released for DVD hire this week here in South Africa). On friday I searched every shop that sells DVD's but it isn't up for sale yet. Because the movie is almost constantly in my thoughts I rented it again. With so many questions in my mind, I really needed to find likeminded people and after following a couple of links, I found these forums. I am so glad I did, because I now realize that the impact that the movie has on me is something shared between so many others. Guess I'm a Brokie now too! I like the sound of that!

[Brown Eyes]

The scene where he is crossing the street and he is reading the postcard, same thing, he is showing his usual demeanor, not exhibiting his feelings.  But even more so, and I am projecting myself into this for a moment, seeing the postcard with the word stamped in red, I don't think Ennis' brain could process that.  Not at all, in any way, at least not instataneously.  I think his first mental reaction was incredulity, incomprehension.  I know mine would have been.  for more than seconds, more like many minutes...  Then he had to be functional enough to make the call, find all the small change, speak to the operator to place the call....

Heya,

This is a good topic for a thread... thanks for starting it Tristann!  My sense of Ennis's immediate reaction is somewhat similar to Jane's comment here.  I think he's sort of in shock or stunned.  Yes, I'm sure (as in the story) there's a good deal of disbelief too.  I also get the sense that he might feel a little dizzy or feel like the world is turned upside-down.  The camera movements and the really fast-moving truck (probably a symbol that Jack is gone) that drives by Ennis and exits the frame all help give the audience a sense of this stunned dizziness.

But, it's true that Ennis is also an expert at supressing his feelings, so there's probably a little of that too... espeically because he's in public. 

My favorite thing about his conversation with Lureen is that he actually tells her what Brokeback is.  I think this is enormous for Ennis.  It's also a little bit like he's staking his claim on Jack here... in a very subtle way he's telling Lureen that Jack's favorite place was where he and Jack were together.  This happens in a somewhat round about way though... Lureen tells Ennis that Brokeback was Jack's favorite place after Ennis says that it was where they herded sheep together back in '63.  In a way, Ennis is pushing Lureen to put two and two together.  And, on Lureen's part, it's quite kind of her to let Ennis know that Brokeback was Jack's favorite place.  I get the sense that Ennis has never discussed the topic of Brokeback with anyone other than Jack... so this is huge for him.

And, one more observation about the phone call... I've always thought it was very poignant that Lureen says she thought that Brokeback was "some pretend place"  because after all it is a fictional place.  The fact that Brokeback Mountain (in reality) is one of the made-up locations in the story/ film it just adds to the sense that Brokeback was an ideal paradise for Jack and Ennis and one to which they truly can never return.

[nakymaton]

I think Ennis does respond to the postcard... but his reaction is very, very subtle. He's got the merest hint of a smile as he pulls the rubber band off of his mail and unfolds the catalog. It's almost as if this little ritual of checking the mail has become a source of pleasure in his life, like there's one little moment every day when his heart beats just a little bit faster, wondering if there will be a postcard in the mail. (Notice how the first thing he does is unfold the big stuff to see what's hidden inside?)

But then as he turns over the postcard and reads it and realizes what it says, the smile fades. We don't see his full reaction; the camera angle changes so that we're looking over Ennis's shoulder... and then we read the postcard too.

And at the end of the phone call to Lureen, when Ennis holds the phone's ear piece to his lips... he looks like he's trying to hold in a sob there. It's a public phone booth, after all, on the street in Riverton. But Ennis is pretty near tears through the entire conversation, it looks like to me.

(That was the first time I watched that DVD chapter in isolation. The entire thing just about tore me to pieces. Gah. I don't think I've ever watched the dumping-Cassie scene without seeing the dozy embrace first. Ennis just looks so complete desolate there.  )

The attachment is a bad attempt to screencap that little hint of a smile on Ennis's face as he leaves the post office. Poor guy. He's never going to be able to pick up the mail in the same way again, you know?      No wonder he finally gets a mailbox outside his trailer at the end.

[jpwagoneer1964]

The attachment is a bad attempt to screencap that little hint of a smile on Ennis's face as he leaves the post office. Poor guy. He's never going to be able to pick up the mail in the same way again, you know?      No wonder he finally gets a mailbox outside his trailer at the end.

Never even made the connection about the mail box at the tralier. Your right he wouldn.t want to use the PO anymore.

[Amber]

And at the end of the phone call to Lureen, when Ennis holds the phone's ear piece to his lips... he looks like he's trying to hold in a sob there. It's a public phone booth, after all, on the street in Riverton. But Ennis is pretty near tears through the entire conversation, it looks like to me.

This was my first thought when I read the first post that Tristann wrote.  He is very subdued and seemingly very calm, but at the end of the phone conversation he holds that earpiece to his mouth.  I tear up everytime, you just know he wants to react so much stronger but he's in public and he's trying to maintain some kind of stoic reputation.  I think throughout the phone call you can hear hesitation in his voice.  And there is that point where he pauses and Lureen has to ask if he is still there.  He seems to be very emotional there as well, as if he needs a minute to gain composure and keep it together.

So, I think he does show some emotion.  Granted, not in the form of tears or an outburst of some kind, but I think in the only form of emotion that Ennis would let anyone out in the world see.

[dly64]

I agree with so many of you!

It would be out of Ennis' character to break down while reading the postcard or while talking on the phone. However, he is emotional. In typical Ennis fashion he tries to stuff his emotions. Yet, when he says to Lureen, “Thanks for your time …. I sure am sorry … we was good friends” he is desperately trying to hold it together. I think Lureen senses that. Ennis’ comment along with the acknowledgement that BBM was the place where Jack and Ennis met in 1963, solidifies the suspicion that she’s had for many years … her husband was in love with somebody else (whether or not she believed it was a man Jack loved prior to the phone call, I don’t know). Her reaction stems from the knowledge that the man on the end of the line is the person Jack really loved.

I agree with you, Mel, that it is no coincidence that Ennis has a mailbox at the end of the film. IMO, the post office is a reminder of when Ennis came to realize Jack had died. The trailer represents how Ennis feels without Jack … empty … “if you don’t got nothin’ … then you don’t need nothin’”. Within that void expanse is the one place Ennis feels safe to express his emotions … his love for Jack. It is there where he keeps the only part of Jack that he has left … the shirts and the memory of their idyllic time on BBM.

[serious crayons]

I think it's fair to assume Ennis DOES show emotion at the news of Jack's death, but Ang just didn't happen to film it. Mainly, I think, to enhance the drama of the closet scene. But also to show that Ennis is expert at controlling his emotions around other people -- which is not the same as saying he doesn't feel them. Think of how calm he is when he parts with Jack after Brokeback, but then he goes into the alley ...

The post office scene cuts off just after Ennis spends enough time reading the "deceased" to absorb its meaning. Then it picks up again some time later, in the phone booth. Who knows what happened in between? During the phone call, he is actually fairly emotional, by Ennis' standards. For instance, right hearing how Jack died, he can't speak and Lureen says, "Hello? Hello?" And after she hangs up, he doesn't just replace his own receiver and calmly go about his business -- he looks disparingly out the window (metaphor for thinking of Jack) and clutches the receiver. Again, the scene cuts off immediately, so who knows what he did after that.

Even at the Twists' ranch, while sitting at the kitchen table, he shows a lot of emotion. But as usual it's pretty tightly controlled, expressed in just the tiniest changes in his facial expression.

It's impossible to know exactly how he behaved during the times that the camera wasn't on him. But in any case, I think we can say that if we'd seen him sobbing uncontrollably in the post office scene and again in the phone booth and again in the truck as he's driving to the Twists, the emotional power of the shirt scene would be considerably undercut.

[dly64]

The post office scene cuts off just after Ennis spends enough time reading the "deceased" to absorb its meaning. Then it picks up again some time later, in the phone booth. Who knows what happened in between? During the phone call, he is actually fairly emotional, by Ennis' standards. For instance, right hearing how Jack died, he can't speak and Lureen says, "Hello? Hello?" And after she hangs up, he doesn't just replace his own receiver and calmly go about his business -- he looks disparingly out the window (metaphor for thinking of Jack) and clutches the receiver. Again, the scene cuts off immediately, so who knows what he did after that.

Even at the Twists' ranch, while sitting at the kitchen table, he shows a lot of emotion. But as usual it's pretty tightly controlled, expressed in just the tiniest changes in his facial expression.

It's impossible to know exactly how he behaved during the times that the camera wasn't on him. But in any case, I think we can say that if we'd seen him sobbing uncontrollably in the post office scene and again in the phone booth and again in the truck as he's driving to the Twists, the emotional power of the shirt scene would be considerably undercut.

I agree completely! For the arch of the film, it is important that the most emotional reaction we see from Ennis is when he finds the shirts.

Interestingly, I never thought of the metaphor of the window. (Ennis looking out and is thinking about Jack). It makes sense. I can’t believe I missed that!  The only time I noticed that was in the trailer. But it is in numerous other scenes as well. Love that!