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Not a clean sweep for Brokeback Mountain, but it got 4 out of 7, more than any other movie last night...
Best Picture, Drama;
Best Director for Ang Lee;
Best Screenplay for Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana;
Best Original Song, "A Love That Will Never Grow Old"
It did not produce a win for either actor Heath Ledger or Michelle Williams, or for best score.
Now I wonder how it will all play out come Oscar night in a few months!
Well, it wasn't a clean sweep, but I was still encouraged to see the HFPA honour the films work. We've come a long way to see a "gay-themed" film be nomintated for a mainstream industry award(s). They say the Golden Globes is the pre-cursor to the Academy Awards. Stay tuned...
From today's Variety....
"Brokeback Mountain" screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana found themselves standing up for their film in the face of controversy. However, the fact the film is being embraced by larger-than-expected audiences in the heartland suggests, McMurtry said, that "it's an embraceable film."
Ossana said, "Not everyone will like this film. Not everyone will like any film." But McMurtry jumped in to say, "Most people will like this film."
Ossana said she never liked the label "gay cowboy movie," calling it "a very reductive term." She said, "It's a very subtle but also very severe."
McMurtry, a longtime writer of acclaimed Westerns, said it's an important story about the West with a simple message: "Life isn't for sissies, whether you're gay or straight. It's a difficult road."
I think it will be interesting to see how this plays out come Oscar time. Though Jake Gyllenhaal wasn't nominated last night, I bet he gets a nod for Best Supporting Actor next month.
It was pretty much a draw between Heath Ledger and Philip Seymour Hoffman for Best Actor. Hoffman has garnered the most praise from the country's top critics for his showy but brilliant turn as Truman Capote, so it's really no surprise that he won the award, though I was a bit taken aback when they announced his name instead of Ledger's. The consolation in Hoffman winning is that he won for portraying a gay character, so the community should be sated with that.
Brokeback is still considered to be the front runner for the Best Picture Oscar, and I think it will probably take it. If its chief competition is Walk the Line (generally considered to be a rather by-the-numbers biopic informed by great acting), then it has a clear path to victory.
I saw the film for a third time over the weekend (a friend of mine in from out of town really wanted to see it, so I agreed to go again), and I enjoy it more with each repeated viewing. There are so many beautiful subleties that are found in the acting, some of the most beautifully nuanced performances I've seen in quite some time. I am still in awe of Lee's talents as a director, the emotion he gets from his characters, and none of it is ever delivered with a heavy-handed fist. It's all so understated that it creeps up on you hours and even days after you've seen the movie, to the point where you don't even realize how affected you were by it. That's brilliance, as far as I am concerned.
The movie is doing very well across the board. I hope it signals the beginning of more gay-themed movies from Hollywood.
What's most important about Brokeback, however, is that it is the right film at just the right time. This is exactly the movie that we needed in light of last year's elections results. It is a great wake-up call to the people who voted against gay marriage, who have gotten so used to seeing harmless characters like those found on Will & Grace. Brokeback shows how love knows no gender. It shows that there is no difference between love between two men, except in how society views it. That is the most wondrous thing about the movie. It finally makes sense of it all for the people who could never figure it out before. For those open enough to experience the film, I would think it would be impossible not to walk away with a deeper understanding of what "gay love" is all about.
Heath Ledger was outstanding in Brokeback Mountain, but I'd give the trophy to Hoffman. Speaking of Capote, I do need to see that again. It is, of course, still playing here in Austin at our groovy Dobie theater. :D
It's a great story, I've never seen a set of potentially hot button topics treated with such adroit ability in a Hollywood film. And capturing such a character like Truman Capote in the engaging way Hoffman does should earn a trophy.
Steve
Quote:
Originally Posted by desslock
I liked the movie a lot, and Hoffman was, of course, wonderful. It was so dark and depressing, though. The tone of it was so stark and cold, but quite haunting. But it didn't stay with me the way that Brokeback has. I wouldn't call the film itself award-worthy, though the performances certainly were.