Lary Bloom
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Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Brokeback As Issue
In his review of Brokeback Mountain in the New Yorker, Anthony Lane writes that this blockbuster should not be interpreted as an issue movie. To do so would ignore its artfulness and subtleties. And, after all, love is a messy business anyway, no matter the social and political context. His argument is persuasive.Even so, as I watched the film, and afterward, I couldn't help but think of gay friends in the '60s and '70s whose struggles were complex and sometimes terrifying. I think of a colleague who was by far the most talented writer at our newspaper, but who never was seen in that way by management. This, naturally, had an effect on him, and contributed to a downward spiral. As Brokeback Mountain wound down to its final scenes, I thought about Bill, and about reading his obituary last year -- this brilliant writer, dead at 56, after having worked his final years on the copy desk. A newspaper's version of Siberia.
The movie in general release that broke ground on the subject of homosexuality in "polite society," Far From Heaven, documented the struggle in its way, but much less artfully than in Brokeback Mountain, where silences and averted eyes do much of the talking.
It is, as its predecessor, a period piece, and needs to be. But there will be those moviegoers today who will avoid the film simply because in their view it is an issue movie, and it's an issue they'd rather not see on the screen. Too bad for them, and for the rest of us. The period should be over.
Posted by:Lary Bloom at 5:31 AM
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