A sweepingly tragic neo-Western where repressed longing flickers like a campfire against the vast, unforgiving Wyoming wilderness, ultimately finding its home in the silent, intertwined fabric of two shirts in a closet.
Brokeback Mountain
"Love is a force of nature."
Director:
Ang Lee
Cast:
Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid
Drama
Romance
Budget:
$14,000,000
Box Office:
$178,043,761
Brokeback Mountain - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details
Easter Eggs
The Inversion of the Shirts
In Jack's closet, Ennis's shirt is inside Jack's, showing Jack 'protecting' Ennis. In the final scene, Ennis has flipped them so Jack's is inside his, symbolizing that Ennis has finally taken up the role of guarding Jack's memory.
The Subverted Gaze
In an early scene where Ennis is bathing, Jack is shown peeling a potato in the foreground without looking at him. This was a deliberate choice to avoid objectifying the characters and focus on their emotional connection.
The 'Earl' Backstory
The story Ennis tells about the man named Earl is a direct reference to a real-life murder that inspired author Annie Proulx to write the original short story.