I touched on this topic briefly earlier today on my blog, but also wanted to post here as well to better promote the ideas I touched on there.
This is the situation: A good friend of mine watched Brokeback Mountain on DVD not too long ago, having been informed by me how much the film had affected me, and of how much it meant to me. He knew I was anxious for him to see it as well, and to learn what his impressions were.
He did enjoy the film, and was pleasantly surprised by the excellence of the performances, especially commending Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, and Anne Hathaway. His tastes run towards more stylized forms of cinema, but within the range of naturalistic/realistic filmmaking, he found the movie to be throroughly accomplished.
He did hint at some opinions that might not resonate as warmly with me, but upon my reassuring him that I was interested in everything he had to say, he went on to share that he did not find Jack and Ennis appealing as people, within the framework of the fictional universe they inhabit. Ascharacters operating within a fiction, he found them quite effective, and praised director Ang Lee for conveying a story that was all the more powerful for its characters being flawed human beings. But he did not find the characters attractive, and Ennis, in particular, he saw as someone who in real life he would go to great lengths to avoid.
My friend added that he found it unlikely that those claiming great affection for and/or attraction to Ennis and Jack would be as enthusiastic or sympathetic were we to encounter these men in real life. As someone who has felt great love towards Ennis in particular, I have pondered my friend's comments, and felt uneasy in the reflection that he very well may be right. There is so much about Ennis that is, at least on the face of things, unappealing: his emotional obtuseness, his lack of articulation, his willingness to deceive/betray others in order to pursue fulfillment, his propensity for violence, and his homophobia. Were I to encounter someone like Ennis in the real world, it is quite likely that he would view me, insofar as he considered me at all, with contempt or misunderstanding, and I would likewise most probably see little if anything to cultivate in knowing such a man. And yet it is no small measure of Annie and Ang's achievement that Ennis finds such warm refuge in so many hearts, perhaps awakening us to the fuller humanity of those who we might previously have disregarded. It is, at any rate, an interesting thing to ponder, and I thank my friend for opening this perception more acutely in my consciousness.
I go on at such length to basically say that observations and perceptions such as my friend's that might be called 'negative' or 'critical' can be of great insight and usefulness. I don't think such comments, if honestly felt and sincerely offered, should be shunned or discouraged. Indeed, all honest criticism can hone our own understanding by challenging our own biases and preferences. In the process, we and the artistic/cultural phenomenon called Brokeback Mountain can emerge all the stronger and clearer, and our lives thus indelibly enriched. I welcome all commentary on the story and film, covering the entire conceivable spectrum of emotional and intellectual engagement, and it is for this that I post this message.