Yet another Brokeback thread.

[jekajekalynn]

My dh rented Brokeback for me yesterday, and I just got through watching it. I am some questions though...

Did Jacks wife knew he was gay? When Ennis calls her after he gets the postcard and talks to her, she is just so non chalent about his death... It's almost like she was talking to a person about a used Buick for sale instead of talking about the death of a person... Also, who perpetrated the lie about Jacks death? Did she make it up , or did someone else?

TIA!

 

[Chuck S]

I think she suspected her husband was gay, and possibly set up the guy with the cabin to confirm her suspicions, and probably told her "Daddy" who set up the murder/tire accident scenario. As to whether the wife actually knew it was murder or not...maybe. It could have been the work of her father, who then lied to the wife about it being a tire acident to spare her feelings somewhat...and she may have had her suspicions that "Daddy" took care of her "problem."

 

[BigTiggerGuy]

I don't think she KNEW Jack was gay but I think she had her suspicions. Jack told Ennis during their last meeting that they had basically been "phoning in their marriage" for quite a while so I honestly think she had lost any feelings she had for him.
As far as Jack's death....that is open for debate. My friend thought like you and believed that Jack was beaten to death and his wife made up the flat tire story to cover it up. I interpreted it differently. I think he really was killed as she described. The quick flash of two men beating Jack with a tire iron was Ennis' own paranoia about what he thinks "really" happened to Jack. Remember, it was almost identical to the flashback he had as a child when his father showed him the dead cowboy. Anyway, not too sure...but that is my two cents worth!

 

[LukenDC]

I closely watched the scene where Ennis calls Lureen. There is a lot going on in that scene, but it is subtle. You need to observe Anne Hathaway's facial expressions, intakes of breath, and voice inflections to get a grasp of what is really happening. When Ennis tells her that he herded sheep with Jack on Brokeback Mountain, she seems to finally understand Ennis' significance in Jack's life. She is very formal with Ennis, but gives him the information about Jack's parents having his ashes, information that ultimately leads Ennis to discover the shirts and realize how much Jack loved him. Having completed her obligation to Jack's memory, Lureen simply hangs up on Ennis. This tells me that she has resentment towards Ennis and probably knows about the relationship.

I read the story before seeing the film and in the story it is clear that Jack's murder is in Ennis' imagination and may or may not have a basis in fact. What is important is not so much how Jack died, but how Ennis believes that he died. Ennis' belief that Jack was murdered for his homosexuality validates his decision to remain closeted. It is also a reflection of how deeply Ennis was traumatized by the childhood experience of seeing the gay man who had been tortured and murdered.

 

[disneykid]

I absolutely believe she knew about him and Ennis and had the whole "tire iron accident" done. She had such a smug look on her face when Ennis was talking to her, and if you remember, Ennis had made mention of almost the same thing happening to a couple of gentlemen when he was growing up. His father (Ennis) took him to see the body, so endicative of the time. Good movie overall!

 

[jekajekalynn]

I wonder why she didn't divorce Jack then if she knew he wasn't in love with her? Was it because of the $$$ he had comming in with the job?

 

[Chuck S]

I wonder why she didn't divorce Jack then if she knew he wasn't in love with her? Was it because of the $$$ he had comming in with the job?

Divorce was not as common in the 1960s, especially in southern states, like Texas. People went to great lengths to avoid "scandal" in a small town.

 

[majortom]

I read the story before seeing the film and in the story it is clear that Jack's murder is in Ennis' imagination and may or may not have a basis in fact. What is important is not so much how Jack died, but how Ennis believes that he died. Ennis' belief that Jack was murdered for his homosexuality validates his decision to remain closeted. It is also a reflection of how deeply Ennis was traumatized by the childhood experience of seeing the gay man who had been tortured and murdered.

I completely agree that that Ennis imagines Jack's death to be murder to justify his own closeted life.

Divorce was not as common in the 1960s, especially in southern states, like Texas. People went to great lengths to avoid "scandal" in a small town.

He does not die in the 1960's, but the 1980's when divorce was common, even in Texas.

 

[LukenDC]

I recently read an interview with BBM screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. They said that Jack's death is deliberately ambiguous to the viewer, but Ennis' belief regarding Jack's death is central to the story. They also said that it was Heath Ledger's idea to place Jack's shirt inside of Ennis' shirt for the last scene. That is such a beautiful touch and so symbolic. Heath must truly be a romantic at heart.

On a more somber note, I read in my local gay newspaper this morning that two American gay men were beaten with tire irons in St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies. Interesting choice of weapon. One of the men, a 25 year old CBS employee, is intensive care with possible brain injuries.

 

[sotoalf]

I wonder why she didn't divorce Jack then if she knew he wasn't in love with her? Was it because of the $$$ he had comming in with the job?

Besides, I don't doubt she DID love Jack in her way, otherwise she wouldn't have whimpered so touchingly on the phone with Ennis.