Clyde and I anticipated that watching Brokeback Mountain with a Mississippi audience would challenge us. We’ve heard audience members catcall, moan with disgust, and make retching noises during movies with far less explicit homosexual content. We figured that Brokeback, with its kisses and caresses, might push homophobic audiences in Pearl, Mississippi over the edge.
Apparently, theater owners share our fears. Both major chains in Jackson — Regal and Cinemark — are showing Brokeback … but not advertising it. In the local paper, you’ll see huge ads for everything from Big Momma’s House 2 to Hostel. Since Brokeback began showing in Jackson three weeks or so ago, not one ad for it has appeared in the Clarion-Ledger. (Brokeback does appear in those tiny, text-only showtime listings.)
We were surprised, then, to find ourselves watching Brokeback at the Regal Parkway Cinemas with an unusually sober audience of AARP members. If any of these gray-haired, heterosexual couples were disgusted, they didn’t say or do anything to express that disgust — and, to their credit, they laughed in all the right places … so they were awake and paying attention.
Sadly, I must report our experience was an unusual one. Last night, a friend told me about running into a fairly liberal older woman who had seen Brokeback this past Friday.
She frowned and shuddered. “I walked out.”
My friend was surprised. “You walked out?”
“With a bunch of other people. I wasn’t alone.”
My friend couldn’t believe it. “Why? Why did you walk out?”
The older woman sighed. “This is Mississippi. We’re … conservative. Folks around here just aren’t ready to see all that on screen.”
* * * * *
In other gay movie news: once Oscar buzz began building around Capote — which has zero overt sexual content and goes out of its way to sublimate the main character’s sexual preferences — Cinemark brought the movie to Jackson … for one show a day … at ten o’clock p.m.
What’s the logic behind that? The adults who might enjoy the show aren’t likely to turn out for a three-hour movie that starts two hours before midnight.
Mark: Was it any good? I rarely get to the movies these days with a 2yr old. Was it worth the trip to the big screen? Some commentators here in the UK are calling it a B movie.
Hmmm. How do UK reviewers feel about American westerns in general, I wonder?
Part of the movie’s power, I think, comes from its ability to tap into the energy of American mythology. “The Unspoiled West” is an ideological archetype. “The Cowboy” is a purely masculine archetype. On a certain level, the movie articulates a distinctly American love affair with these archetypes (and even mourns their passing).
I would suspect that aspect of the film might not resonate well with U.K. viewers.
Is the movie any good? After two viewings — one for effect, one for scrutiny — I’d have to say yes, on several levels:
– The direction is superb, as are the photography and the visual effects.
– The movie’s well cast, and the actors play their roles with remarkable candor, making good choices throughout.
– The story’s argument — that love, when denied, can only breed tragedy — is very thorougly and satisfyingly supported. Enis and Jack’s failure to embrace who they are meant to be for each other destroys them and everyone around them.
In short: it works — and that’s coming from someone who was very much prepared to dislike this film.