I felt the movie did a better job developing strong differences between the characters off the bat. Jack's herding experience and (implied) homosexual experience, paired with his affectionate mannerisms leads the viewer to quickly catch on to the fact that he is more aware, more comfortable with himself than Ennis is.
I personally pictured Ennis to be much colder and depressed than he is in the film. Here, he leaves out his last name when introducing himself to Jack, which I saw as a sign that he is afraid of his past, and distances himself from his (lack of) family by leaving out his family name. But with the panned shots of him and Jack taking care of sheep and his deep conversations with Jack, we see that Ennis isn't heartless, but reserved, able to ignore formalities. It is also possible that Ennis compares himself with Jack, and is unsure about their friendship at first. He tells Jack, "you may be a sinner but I ain't yet had the opportunity."
I also think a lot of the differences between the characters are visual. It's safe to say that Jake Gyllenhaal is prettier than Heath Ledger, and I think so much of the body language they give off screams "free spirit" for Jack, and "confined, insecure" for Ennis.
As someone who hasn't seen the entire movie, it'll be interesting to see if I continue to agree with myself or if I'm completely proven wrong.
- Henry
Nice post, Henry -- and great title. I appreciate your keying in on details like Ennis's dropping the last name in their introductory scene. It *is* an instance that may be interpreted in as many different ways as there are audience viewers...but that makes it all the more imperative to lean into exploring it.
ReplyDeleteHow would you explicate that "sinner" quotation? On the one hand, he's comparing himself to Jack...and on the other, he's revealing something pretty intimate about himself -- within the context, I bet Christina would point out, of religion.
Religion was something i noticed throughout the movie, for example when Ennis is getting married, the first shot that is cut to is a shot of Ennis saying prayer at the alter, which i found really interesting cause I'm not sure if prayer is said at all weddings... The movie was able to bring this aspect of religion and weave it as a relevant part of Ennis's character profile while the book mentions his mothers beliefs in the pentecost and his favorite song being the hymn "water-walking jesus".
ReplyDeleteoh i just noticed a subtle use of words to keep a religious theme throughout the story. On page 76, as they come down the hill, the mountain is described to have a demonic energy, which is referring to the weather and the sky but also by a religious standard a reprecussion for "sinning".
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