On the Range

THE SECRET OF A COWBOY LOVE AFFAIR

Agay cowboy movie—who'da thunk it? Both unique and universal, Ang Lee'sBrokeback Mountain is an epic American love story. Set in the big-sky country of Wyoming and Texas, it is the tale of two down-on-their-luck cowboys, an orphan and an outsider, who meet in 1963, share a summer job herding sheep and coming up against nature, and fall inexplicably and irrevocably in love.

Based on Annie Proulx's short story, adapted by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, it is written large and small; there is the physical majesty of the American landscape, the tension of the Old West pressing against a new world, and, as in every love story, tragedy.

In breakout performances, Jake Gyllenhaal plays a devilish, deeply sexy Jack Twist, and Heath Ledger is heartrending as the laconic, self-punishing Ennis Del Mar. Taking on feelings as dangerous as the world we're living in, Brokeback Mountain never runs from its characters or subject matter; instead, it slowly unfolds. Rugged and intimate, it's an instant classic. (Rating: ★★★½) -A. M. HOMES

A.M.HOMES