Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Tonight At The Movies “Brokeback Mountain” ★★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ Marjorie Riddle STAFF WRITER As unconventional and controversial as Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” is for a love story, it is nonetheless a love story — one that is full of gut-wrenching scenes that will make audiences laugh, cry and leave - the theater spellbound. The film deserves every bit of its Golden Globe glory and Oscar buzz because it is just that good. It is beautiful, heartbreaking and thought provoking. Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist are two cowboys who meet in the summer of 1963 while herding sheep in Wyoming. Ennis initially resists befriending Jack, but Jack’s boisterous personality sways him, and they bond over the monotonous sheep herding job on Brokeback Mountain. Their seemingly innocent friendship turns into a passionate love affair. When summer turns to fall, they travel down Brokeback Mountain and swear not to mention their special relationship. Ennis marries a woman named Alma, has two daughters and works menial jobs to support his family. Jack marries wealthy tractor heiress Lureen, has a son and works with his patronizing father-in-law selling tractors. Over the next 20 years, Ennis and Jack cannot stay away from each other; they continually escape to Brokeback Mountain on the guise of fishing trips so they can be together. As their relationship’s meaning is better understood and they realize how much they truly mean to each other, their closeness jeopardizes both of their families and their futures. The ending will grab viewers’ hearts, rendering them slighdy broken but hopefully more open to Ennis and Jack’s atypical love. Unfortunately, it couldn’t have ended any other way and still have had the same effect „ on viewers. Ang Lee has directed a masterpiece. He captures Brokeback Mountain’s mystique and its importance for Ennis and Jack through expansive pictures of tbe setting and tasteful depictions of their relationship. To have audiences clap at a viewing’s end is rare, but for audiences to clap at a movie about the love story of homosexual cowboys is phenomenal. What could have been tasteless physicality between two premiere Hollywood actors is transformed into a tender expression of love full of rapture and longing. Lee should hands down get the Oscar for best director. Ledger has never shown in his previous films that he was capable of playing this part, but he perfected Ennis’s character to an absolute art. Moviegoers Special to THE GAMECOCK The superb acting of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal helps make “Brokeback Mountain” an Oscar-worthy film. couldn’t take their eyes off of him because he showed his vulnerability, ruggedness and stoicism so well that it was as if he really became Ennis Del Mar. For the first time in his career, Ledger became unrecognizable in a character. Gyllenhaal was exceptional. The highly talented actor shows great versatility as Jack; viewers feel sorry for Jack one minute and despise him the next. Anne Hathaway plays J ack’s wife, Lureen, and certainly sheds her “princess” image. Over the film’s 20-year span, Lureen’s appearance gets trashier with her bleach blond hair and bright red lipstick. Hathaway also has a startling topless scene. Perhaps “The Princess Diaries” actress wanted to show that she’s all grown up now. Besides her wardrobe, she portrays Jack’s indifferent wife well with limited screen presence. Michelle Williams, formerly of “Dawson’s Creek,” showcased a new dynamic as Alma. Her performance demonstrated the devastation Ennis and Jack’s secret is capable of producing - she sees them kissing and lives with Ennis’ betrayal for several years before their marriage disintegrates. “Brokeback Mountain” created much hype not only for how wonderful it is supposed to be, but also because of the inclusion of a blatantly homosexual relationship between two cowboys. After seeing the film, audiences should agree that it lives up to the hype cinematically.and the issues it conjures are irrelevant. Love is love, and however controversial it may be, the love in this film comes across as real and as powerful as virtually any other love story depicted in film. While “Brokeback Mountain” is a drama, there are occasional light-hearted moments that are genuinely funny as well. There is no one thing that makes the movie - it is a well rounded film full of talented acting, artistic direction, clever writing and refined production. Moviegoers will walk out of the theater hypnotized by what they’ve just seen. Everyone should stop what they’re doing and go see “Brokeback Mountain. ” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm. sc. edu THEATRE • COnTIRUED FROfA 5 Bells.” Several percussionists from the orchestra went into town and found a percussion store, then went to the hotel, called Tan Dun and described the sound and appearance of the bells. They were the bells he had in mind, so they kept them for the performance. Hembree says this film has more appeal than just the music, though. He says much of the film is “small autobiographies of these people.” “You’re kind of interested in what happens to these people,” says Hembree. “They’re interesting people without the music.” The Nickelodeon’s director of development, Bruce Bahr, agrees that the appeal of this film is broad, and that people not necessarily interested in music will be interested in “hearing what these people have to go through in order to maintain their integrity of being able to just play the music they want.” Columbia musicians will perform for 15 minutes before the Friday and Saturday showings of the film. Friday will feature classical guitarist Jeff Harris, and Saturday will feature husband-and-wife banjo and bass duo Mike and Elizabeth Cameron at the 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. shows. Fifteen-year-old flutist Rebecca Thompson will play at the 3 p.m. matinee. Thompson is a student at Spring Valley High school and has Keen playing flute for five years. Like Kim, she says the greatest influence on her musical career is her mother, who is a professional singer. Harris, the classical guitarist, says “this is a good movie for them to show and have live music for.” “Music From the Inside Out” will be shown every evening at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday will feature 3:00 p.m. matinee shows in addition to the evening shows. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gium.se. edu This Week in Music i— ■ “Everything In Transit" s Jack’s Mannequin ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ Chad Henderson THE GAMECOCK Have you ever been hang gliding and flown over a rock concert where the rock was so majestic that it blew your hair into a pompadour and your hang glider shattered into a million pieces, leaving you to live in the woods with Ewoks? No, of course, you haven’t. With so much on the buffet of music, the main dish this week is “Everything in Transit,” an August release by jacks Mannequin, inis is undoubtedly an indie pop-rock album, and it sounds exactly like the work of another band, Something Corporate. Why do they sound so much like Something Corporate? Well, Jack’s Mannequin is a piano powered indie rock band fronted by Something Corporate’s Andrew McMahon. This is McMahon’s solo .album and the songs in it speak about the experiences he had after returning home from years of touring with Something Corporate. The album also delves subtly into his experience with cancer. This album is emotionally intense, and McMahon uses piano and guitar riffs to provide the undertone for the melody-driven vocals' he’s become known for. Jack’s Mannequin follows in the footsteps of Something Corporate in that every song is a sing along and McMahon’s wordsmithery is poignant with these songs, as well. B8»B8aaiH>i8!iaBat3ji)iiLUtiJiciJBwroiiw»tifflW>WDa!ia«Eiii8iiisci^BiiociaMB«WMW8wimnijiMBiiwn«w™ The lyrics are from his heart and pour out as well-constructed poetry. This album is like finding Winston Churchill eating Jell-O with Abraham Lincoln — well-spoken, fun and honest. The cover of this album reads, “This is a story.” The lyrics 9 depict cancer-stricken McMahon returning home after touring and his girlfriend leaving him. If you’ve ever lost the person you thought was “the one,” then this album is definitely for you, because you’ll certainly be able relate. And if you’re in a great relationship, then you should make your mate listen to this album .1. _ _!_M\T_ ^ wiuii, Jdyiug, i’lv.vv,! put n me through what he’s * going through.” This is beautiful music that touches the heart while still maintaining a rock sensibility. McMahon’s struggle is lyrically present when he belts, “As I’m finding the words, you’re getting away” in “I’m Ready.” This album will remind you of situations when you’ve gotten into an argument and can’t find the right words, only to have them come to you j £ hours later, long after the argument ended. This album is composed of all of McMahon’s right words transposed over the right melodies. It’s a postscript for one of the biggest losses in his life. While he lost a great love, he gained an unbelievable album. Congratulations to him for turning the negative into a positive. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu --~~~- m And study abroad means the University Studies Abroad Consortium where you can choose from 25 countries. 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