Thursday, February 17, 2011
Contrasting Montages
The second part of the section of Brokeback that we watched is basically a montage. It tells the parallel stories of Ennis and Jack blending into their lives as straight, "normal" men. It counts as a montage because it compresses a great amount of "real" time into a small amount of screen time. I like this decision because it captures the tone of the story. Time isn't marked by us being told how long it's been, it's marked by the way the characters' lives have developed each time we see them. The montages also work because they contrast in tone. Ennis's marriage is stiff, passionless, and awkward. He gets married to some girl he probably didn't really know, and we don't get much of their romance. In contrast, Jack's romance is born of a rodeo, followed by a meeting in a loud bar and a fling in the back seat of a car. Meanwhile, Ennis's family scenes are constantly assailed by the background noise of the screaming children, showing how society's ideas of the kind of life he should have are making him miserable. Ennis's infidelity is more sympathetic when we see how horrible his home life is. Jack becomes his escape from the wailing monotony of his life. Jack seems more selfish in this light. It's difficult for the heterosexual male to sympathize with someone who's sleeping with Anne Hathaway and still feels the need to cheat. Last, this sequence tells us something about the characters. Jack is the type who has good luck. Wonderful things just seem to fall in his lap. He doesn't get rejected or strike out often. Unlike Ennis, his home life is carefree, and his baby shuts the hell up. In contrast, Ennis lets things happen to him, but they generally don't make him happy. This montage sets up Ennis's character motivation, and while not specifically foreshadowing them, justifies the characters' infidelities. Ennis cheats with Jack because he needs an escape from his life, and Jack cheats on both his wife and Ennis with other men because he can, because it's so easy for him.
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I don’t think Ennis got married to some girl he probably didn't really know because he was engaged to Alma before he had even met Jack, and there are scenes where they are happy like when they are sledding. I pretty sure the stiff, passionless, and awkward marriage you are referring to is when their marriage starts to go downhill, especially when Jack comes back into the picture. We can hardly call Jack’s home life carefree and say that wonderful things seem to fall in his lap (even if he get’s lucky marrying Anne Hathaway and becomes wealthy); his marriage is more of a business partnership than a passionate romance. And I don’t think he would feel the need to cheat on his wife just “because he can”, perhaps if she had a penis he would be faithful, but I believe that ultimately he cheats on her for the same reason he cheats on Ennis; to attempt to get something that he isn’t getting. Their infrequent couplings are temporary escapes from their harsh realities, but they are even more the tastes of what they long for but can’t have.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason Ennis' life seems so miserable compared to Jack's is because Ennis lets his life pass him by while Jack takes a more active role. Ennis' marriage is stiff and awkward because he makes it that way. He refuses to go out to the church social with Alma and he refuses to get a babysitter when she asks. Meanwhile although I agree with Catherine that Jack's marriage is like a business partnership, Jack at least attempts to enjoy his wife's company (as shown when they go out dancing with the other couple).
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Colin, Jack may cheat on his wife with other men because he can but I don’t think he cheats with Ennis because it’s easy for him. If all Jack wanted was to have sex with other men it would be fairly easy for him to find them less that 14 hours away. I think he sleeps with other men because he thinks that will help him miss Ennis less. Although Jack seems to get along better with his wife and have a more comfortable home life he is actually less invested in it. Jack is always ready to forget his family and live with Ennis. It his Ennis who says no. Even when Ennis has no money, no wife and only sees his daughters once a month he can’t leave it behind. The movie makes Ennis seem very hesitant to live with Jack because he does not want to be labeled as gay. For Ennis cheating is a taste of what he won’t allow himself to have. For Jack it is his chance to try and get what he wants.