The "You gotta feel sorry for Jack" thread

[Sheriff Roland]

Jamais Ennis sans Jack - gotta even things out by introducing

The "You gotta feel sorry  for Jack" thread


You gotta feel sorry  for Jack for never having things go his way - not with shooting coyotes, not with getting soup (no more beans, not with Ennis - well not the way he wanted anyways, not with bull riding ($2,000 a year), not with his relationship with his dad "Christ, he licked the stuffin out a me, knocked me down on the bathroom floor, whipped me with his belt... No way to get it right with him after that.", ... well you get the idea.)


 

[moremojo]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack when he is rebuffed by Jimbo the rodeo clown. Jack is so vulnerable and naive here, wearing his tender heart on his sleeve as always, and I really feel for him when Jimbo gives him the cold shoulder. I also always worry for his safety when Jimbo goes over to his pool-playing buddies, as if to say to them, "I gotta tell you about this weird guy over at the bar..."--this tense moment foreshadows Jack's possible murder later in the story.

[Lynne]

You've gotta feel sorry for Jack when his in-laws visit after Bobby is born.  He smiles at Lureen and there's love in his eyes for his child, but he feels excluded from their little circle and is belittled by father-in-law.  Breaks my heart, that.

[Toast]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack as he and Ennis say "goodbye" after they come down from Brokeback.
He tries to get Ennis to commit to return next year, kind of invites him to come up to his daddy's ranch, but fears the best he can hope for is life in the army.

so sad.

[TJ]

You've gotta feel sorry for Jack when his in-laws visit after Bobby is born.  He smiles at Lureen and there's love in his eyes for his child, but he feels excluded from their little circle and is belittled by father-in-law.  Breaks my heart, that.

What makes it even worse is that Lureen's parents take control when they go into Jack's master bedroom in his house. In the movie, in the hallway is the picture of a horse with two contest ribbons inside the frame.

All of that stuff that happens in Texas with Lureen's parents is not in the original short story.

I feel sorry for the screenplay/movie Jack having to work for a man who hated his guts in the first place. Annie Proulx's Jack never works for the farm and equipment company until after Lureen's (no-name) father dies.

[Ellemeno]

I gotta feel sorry for Jack when he's first dancing with Lureen and they turn and his face is so sad.

[ednbarby]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack when L.D. says to him "You want your boy to grow up to be a man, dontcha?"  But not for long there, thankfully, once he lets him have it.   

[Rayn]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack when Randall starts talking about goin' out to his friend's croppie house on the lake to do a little fishin', drink a little whisky... "Ya know?"...  Jack knows what Randall means, but the look on his face, in his eyes... is all about Ennis, he's thinkin of Ennis even if he does take Randall up on his offer later on out of loneliness.   That look is so sad to me.

Rayn

[vkm91941]

You've got to feel sorry for Jack, loving Ennis all those years and never having him, settling for second best 3 or 4 times a year....so sad so tragic

[Brown Eyes]

Ooooo, so much about Jack's situation breaks my heart.  I feel like watching his hopes get dashed over and over again... and his heart broken (or at least disappointed) is like watching a puppy getting kicked.  The worst has to be his disappointment during the post-divorce fiasco.  Watching the contrast between his pure happiness driving up to Wyoming compared to his heartbreak leaving just kills me.  How could Ennis do that to Jack?  But, Ennis breaks my heart too, but for different reasons.

[belbbmfan]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack, because even his last wishes could not be respected. He wanted his ashes scattered on brokeback. I respected Lureen for telling Ennis that he should get in touch with Jack's parents to carry out his wishes. Her life with Jack certainly turned out differently than she thought it would. I think she still felt some affection for Jack. And Ennis sure tried to 'do right by Jack'. If only John Twist didn't hate his son so much.
Even in death, Jack could not get what he wished for 

[Brown Eyes]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack, because even his last wishes could not be respected. He wanted his ashes scattered on brokeback. I respected Lureen for telling Ennis that he should get in touch with Jack's parents to carry out his wishes. Her life with Jack certainly turned out differently than she thought it would. I think she still felt some affection for Jack. And Ennis sure tried to 'do right by Jack'. If only John Twist didn't hate his son so much.
Even in death, Jack could not get what he wished for 

I agree... all the good points you made are definitely sad.  It is horrifying that Jack's own Dad won't let his final explicit wishes be carried out.
 

But it goes even further. It's only "in death," Jack finally was able to communicate the depths of his love to Ennis (they' re the signals that open Ennis's eyes permanently and completely to what his situation really has been for 20 years), and it's only "in death" Jack finally got the commitment from Ennis that he wanted and deserved (the "Jack, I swear..." moment). Oh, that all of this had to come too late!  All that Ennis does for him following his death would have stunned a living Jack.  I mean, Jack couldn't drag Ennis kicking and screaming up to Lightning Flat while he was alive... but once he's dead, Ennis is anxious and determined to go on his own.

So, it's only in death that Jack truly gets what he wished for.  All of which is sad and tragic on an epic level.
 

[OldeSoul]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack when he tells Ennis, "You have no idea how bad it gets".
Jack is always putting on a smile, or laughing, or taking care of Ennis. We only see him cry once in the entire movie, I think.

The worst has to be his disappointment during the post-divorce fiasco.  Watching the contrast between his pure happiness driving up to Wyoming compared to his heartbreak leaving just kills me.  How could  Ennis do that to Jack?  But, Ennis breaks my heart too, but for different reasons.

I think that part, for me, is where the dam breaks and I don't have a dry eye for the rest of the movie. That part is where Jack really dies.

[moremojo]

We only see him cry once in the entire movie, I think.

I think you're right that we see Jack weep only once in the film, namely, immediately after he is rebuffed by Ennis after redlining it to Wyoming after Ennis's divorce. But one can discern tears welling up in Jack's eyes in at least two other moments in the film: the first is when Jack watches Ennis in his rear-view mirror when he is driving out of Signal, and the other is when Jack states, when sitting with Ennis at what turns out to be their last rendezvous, that "sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it." For that matter, I think there might be tears of bitterness and anger in Jack's eyes when Ennis threatens him during the lakeside quarrely shortly after. These are subtle moments, and exemplify the extraordinary finesse and skill of Jake's performance. 

[David]

For that matter, I think there might be tears of bitterness and anger in Jack's eyes when Ennis threatens him during the lakeside quarrely shortly after. . 

All those unsaid things.....that hurt   

[Brown Eyes]

 

[JT]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack for waiting 20 years for Ennis and didn't get him at the end.

[twistedude]

In fact, your heart has to break for Jack most of the time..except during that first summer.

[moremojo]

All that Ennis does for him following his death would have stunned a living Jack.  I mean, Jack couldn't drag Ennis kicking and screaming up to Lightning Flat while he was alive... but once he's dead, Ennis is anxious and determined to go on his own.

For all my love for these two characters, this is another aspect of their relations that puzzles me. When you are in love with someone, it makes sense that you would want to know everything about your beloved, including everything about their past, their childhood, and all the myriad factors that helped make them who they were when you met them. I could imagine being in Jack's place, for example, and taking a trip down to Sage simply to get a better idea of what shaped my soul-mate's being. Yet there is no evidence of such an impulse on Jack's part, and, as you say, it is only in Jack's death that Ennis exhibits curiosity about Lightning Flat. Perhaps the implication is that, in life, the two men took each other for granted; it was death that revealed the true depths of feeling to Ennis's conscious mind.

Quite sad, indeed.

[JT]

In fact, your heart has to break for Jack most of the time..except during that first summer.

You're right!  My heart breaks for Jack almost all the time and near the end, for Ennis also.

[Noviani]

I gotta feel sorry for Jack, driving 1200 miles for nothing after Ennis' divorce.

most people will quit when they are turned down that way.

most people will quit and open themselves new pages.

but not our jack.

he stays.

he endures.

he longs.

so little he can say but so much he has done.

[Noviani]

For all my love for these two characters, this is another aspect of their relations that puzzles me. When you are in love with someone, it makes sense that you would want to know everything about your beloved, including everything about their past, their childhood, and all the myriad factors that helped make them who they were when you met them. I could imagine being in Jack's place, for example, and taking a trip down to Sage simply to get a better idea of what shaped my soul-mate's being. Yet there is no evidence of such an impulse on Jack's part, and, as you say, it is only in Jack's death that Ennis exhibits curiosity about Lightning Flat. Perhaps the implication is that, in life, the two men took each other for granted; it was death that revealed the true depths of feeling to Ennis's conscious mind.

Quite sad, indeed.

Moremojo,

to me it's not "quite sad"...it's devastating!!

anything related to death scared me to death. My Grand dad passed away exactly 3 years ago today, and i learnt hard deal from that. when your loved one dies, there is no second chance. it is stopped. final closure. that's it. a situation where no efforts can bring them back, no matter how open your mind is now.

well, i going everywhere with this.

Sorry.

[moremojo]

Sorry.

No apologies needed, Noviani. Thanks for sharing; this is a place where you are perfectly free and safe to do so.

Death can indeed be devastating for those left behind. I think time can be a great healer, but everyone heals at a different pace, and for some, no amount of time seems to be enough. Perhaps we can take some comfort in knowing that loss is a universal experience, that everyone can relate to in some degree, and that can create bonds among the living, dealing with our common grief.

There can be profound beauty and honor in death, both in facing our own and in accepting that of those dear to us. I take some comfort in this thought.

Sincerely,
Scott

[Noviani]

Hi Scott,

i think that is one strongest reason why i found BBM is haunting for me. Because of Jack's death, their relation froze and nothing was resolved.

when there is no closure to a story/ movie like this... it tags you along for a very... very ... long time.

Novi

[insane-romantic]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack when Ennis punches him. Jack only made his nose bleed by accident and then is really apologetic, but Ennis still punches him and Jack curls up and looks all sorry for himself as he watched Ennis storm off. Poor Jack 

[Brown Eyes]

Awww, I haven't visited this thread for a while.  I feel more and more sorry for Jack everytime I watch the movie.  What I've learned after all these months is that the frustration level at their situation and the sadness only gets worse as time goes on!      The thing that makes me sad at the moment is the idea of lost potential. 

Anyway, I'm mainly here to say welcome to BetterMost insane-romantic!  Glad you're here!  Want a cup of coffee don't you?  And a piece of cherry cake?
 

[Noviani]

You gotta feel sorry for Jack becuase not once Ennis made an effort to get to meet Jack's folks when he was alive.