Explanation of the Final Scene in Brokeback Mountain (2005) Why do Jack and Ennis Decide To Go Their Own Ways?
The film that would go on to become known as Brokeback Mountain had mixed reviews at the time it was released but is now considered a classic. Its representations of homosexuality, as well as the challenges it posed to morality, religion, and cultural norms, contributed to the controversy that it sparked.
The homophobic rants of the day about the “unnaturalness” of homosexuality were countered in this chaotic and creatively complex film, which contributed to the film’s rise to fame and helped change people’s minds on homosexuality. It was replaced with the unnaturalness of sexual restraint, which was the opposite of what was desired.
Ang Lee is a film director, producer, and screenwriter who has won an Academy Award for his work, and he is responsible for directing the American Neo-Western romance drama movie “Brokeback Mountain.”
The movie stars Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Anne Hathaway, and it tells the story of a romantic relationship that develops over the course of 20 years between two American cowboys, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, set in the American West. The relationship is complicated and fraught with tension.
The two people develop a close connection, yet it is ultimately severed due to differences in cultural norms. Everyone feels compassion for them and their predicament. This kind of “forbidden” passion might exist between two women or between couples from different religious or cultural origins, which makes the movie even more accessible to the audience because of the breadth of its potential audience.
What Were Some of the Ideas That Led to the Ceation of Brokeback Mountain?
The tragic events that take place in the movie “Brokeback Mountain” were adapted from a short story with the same name. Annie Proulx is the author of this story, which was first published in the year 1997 in the magazine The New Yorker.
Anne Proulx recalls a time when she lived in Northern Wyoming and observed a significant number of persons who held homophobic views during an interview. When she was at a bar one night, she saw an elderly cowboy leaning against a wall, and he was looking at the other men in the bar who were playing pool with an unusually sad and melancholy expression on his face. She found this very interesting.
The author questioned whether or not he was gay, and she thought about what it would be like to be an elderly cowboy living in a town where being gay was looked down upon.
Proulx stated the following in a different interview: “The novel was not ‘inspired,’ but rather the outcome of years of unconscious observation and pondering, which was eventually brought to the point of writing.”
Proulx continued her discussion by elaborating on the ways in which the indigenous cultures of North America’s more remote regions serve as an inspiration for her work. She also discussed how she “watches for the historical skew between what people have hoped for and who they thought they were and what has happened to them.”
In What Ways Does the Film Adapt the Source Material That It Is Based On?
In Brokeback Mountain, Proulx often contrasts nature and culture with each other as antagonists. The two main characters’ irrational affections for one another are a reflection of nature, and the setting is endowed with symbolic meaning thanks to the environment that was presented as the protagonists’ budding relationship was taking place.
The terrain in Brokeback Mountain plays a different function than it typically does in the western genre of film since it is used to intensify the themes of desire and repression.
Throughout the course of the movie, Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar have a difficult time finding the right words to communicate how they feel about one another, and even when they do, they believe that the constraints of society and culture prevent them from freely expressing their feelings.
The setting is an important element in the story that is being told. This plays an important part in the narrative of Brokeback Mountain when the dialogue alone is not sufficient to convey the plot.
They both come from places that are desolate in both a physical and emotional sense, and Brokeback Mountain offers them an escape from that desolation in both a literal and figurative sense. The film takes place in the rocky mountain west, with mountains serving as a dramatic antithesis to the different hometowns of the two characters.
In accordance with the norms of society, Jack moves to Texas to be with his wealthy wife, but Ennis is restrained by his obligations and the limits of their financial situation.
From the beautiful towering perch above the mountain to the ordinary and commonplace life that society’s expectations drive them to lead. In the film, the mountains are vivid, full of life, wild, and untamed, in contrast to their hometowns, which are dull, tamed, lonely, and melancholy. The mountain can also be seen as a tombstone, and it is necessary for the men’s relationship to be put to rest beneath it.
Why do Jack and Ennis Decide to go Their Own Ways?
When they were both outside fishing at the same time, Ennis and Jack would run into each other every so often. Nevertheless, at some point, the two of them come to the realization that they simply would not be able to be together. The reason for this choice was because of what Ennis remembers his father doing to a homosexual man who had witnessed his sons engaging in homosexual activity.
This particular recollection was mostly responsible for establishing a sense of dread in his son. Sadly, after disagreeing with one another and eventually trying to console the other, the pair decides to separate ways.
The Passing of Jack is News to Ennis, How Does He Learn Of It?
A few years later, Ennis wrote Jack a postcard, which Jack later received with the stamp “Deceased” on it. He doesn’t waste any time and gets in touch with Jack’s partner Lureen as soon as he can. It is via Lureen that he discovers that Jack was killed in an accident in which a car tire exploded in his face.
Ennis can’t help but picture his worst nightmare turning into his final moment of terror manifested. He speculates that Jack’s death was the result of a violent act committed by someone else. In addition, Lureen continues by telling Jack that her husband’s final desire was for his ashes to be dispersed throughout Brokeback Mountain.
Ennis goes on a trip so that he can grant Jack’s request and have a conversation with Jack’s parents. Unfortunately, his father does not agree, and he states that he would rather have the ashes scattered on the family farm.
How Did Jack End Up Passing Away?
Although it appears that Lureen is telling the truth, there is still a possibility that there is another explanation for what is happening. The movie alludes to a few possible outcomes, including Jack’s suffering and his eventual demise. In an earlier scene, Jack is seen flirting with another patron inside the bar. The other patron is male. When Jack turns to talk to his friend in the nook, two of the other men in the room glance up at him with an expression of pure loathing on their faces. It is easy to understand how circumstances could have swiftly become life-threatening for him.
It seems likely that Jack lost his life as a result of his repeated attempts to gratify his needs by engaging in sexual activity with other men because he did this so regularly. In addition, the movie does not make any attempt to allay the concerns that Ennis has. Therefore, it is not completely out of the question that this event actually took place.
Anne Hathaway stated in an interview that she does not know what happened with Jack and that she does not know what happened. She then goes on to claim that the moment in the movie where Lureen phones Ennis was shot in two different takes and that both of them were used. Lureen is shown explaining to Ennis how she found out that her partner was gay and that he had been killed as a result of a hate crime. One watches this conversation take place. The second one included Lureen informing Ennis that Jack had perished away due to an accident involving a tire blowing up in his face.
In the end, rather of using either one of the takes on its own, a compilation of both of them was created. It would appear that Anne is completely unaware of the rationale behind Ang Lee’s directive that this be carried out.
Does Lureen Have Any Idea What Jack’s Sexual Orientation Is?
Lureen might have picked up on her partner’s sexual preferences throughout the course of their relationship, but nothing to that effect is shown on television. During the course of the movie, she reveals to Ennis that her boyfriend had expressed the desire for his ashes to be scattered across Brokeback Mountain.
During Jack’s formative years, the mountain may have given her the impression that it was conceivable for him to call it home. In point of fact, though, this provides Jack and Ennis with a kind of sanctuary in which they are able to get together.
Throughout the course of the movie, there are a few situations in which Lureen opens up to other female characters about how her partner refused to “dance” with her. In this context, it’s possible that dancing was associated with having sexual interactions. She goes on to assert that she did not let her spouse to “drink” at all during their marriage. She was implying that she had maybe requested that her husband stop from engaging in homosexual relationships after she made her statement.
Jack “drank” on a regular basis, but, to use her phrase, he was completely oblivious to her. As she talks, her eyes appear to be moist, which suggests that she was probably aware that Jack used to go out to meet Ennis. Alternatively, it may indicate that she is experiencing grief at the loss of her spouse.