Brokeback - I know it's a movie but...

I know this is for theatre, but I think we can all take a page out of this movie if we wish to become Oscar winners.

Well.

I just saw Brokeback Mountain, to support fellow Australian Heath Ledger.

Can I just say if that was his finest performance and that is all you need to be an Oscar contender - EVERYBODY STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Don't act!

I mean seriously, if all you have to do is emulate Billy-Bob Thornton from Swingblade or Switchblade minus the mental handicap, ad a crook neck and you have his performance.

The moments when he got emotional, I think were very nicely done, but by no means unattainable by any other actor nor something we haven't seen in many other films this year.

Jack Gyllenhall was slightly better, giving his usual Doe-eyed performance. We all feel sorry for this lad whatever film he does. Whether its for choosing to do The Day After Tomorrow or for playing the emotionally retarded Donnie Darko. This boy has got range and skill and he displays a bit of that range in this film. I think this would be another Philadelphia if Ledger wins and Gyllenhalls not even mentioned. Denzel deserved that oscar, but Hanks walked away with it. Instead Denzel gets it for Training Day? I mean come on!!!

Onto th rest of the review:

In all, the production was very Ang Lee (Surprising since it was directed by the man). Minamalistic in Dialogue, Beautiful scenery and cinematography.

The problem is, the movie went half an hour too long, many people in the auditorium getting restless, shifting, coughing and the like (and no that was not because of the uncomfortable experience of two men having simulated sex onscreen). Too many moments of beautiful nature shots, unnecessary pauses.

I will say it had one or two poignant moments, but overall the film seems to be a visually stunning advert for the Wilderness of the USA and the hardships of the ranchers/cowboys.

Michelle Williams looked grotty and unkempt, suiting her character and she was the person I sympathised with the most, giving an honest and earthy performance.

Anne Hathaway was a surprise - nice to see her out of the usual fairytale princess role, though by the time her character was thirty, she still looked angel faced and youthful. The only person that seemed to age in the production was Jake Gyllenhall and this was through the colouring of his hair and a moustache.

We complain in amateur theatre if a person doesn't look old if they play old and the same in professional theatre as well I am sure, so how do these people get away with it? If they didn't have the date changes on the screen, I would have assumed the movie took place over a couple of weeks according to how the leads aged (of course the children would have blown that theory)

To create a 2 hour ten minute movie from a 25 page short story, great work, but I think Mr Lee pushed a little too hard, trying to weigh scenes down with symbolism, depth or something that just wasn't necessary. Especially when their defence is that it isn't a gay cowboy movie but a movie about two people falling in love. I don't think I have seen such a weighty love story since Elliot Gould in "Little Murders" in which I cried simply because it was one of the most confusing and aggrovating films I have ever seen.

Oscar Contender Heath, Ang and the film itself? Not really deserving.

A nice film, though overly long (which I recall a local production getting criticised for that late last year) but no better than Rom Com "Family Stone" or even "Chicken Little" I had more fun in both of those films, was moved to tears in the first and both times thought the movie had only been going for an hour when the credits started rolling - a sign of a good film if you ask me.

I do not endorse the writing of film reviews for this website, I just felt that the fact all you need to be an oscar contender these days is the ability to not act or act bored, then we can all learn something here.