Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal give impressive performances as the men, Ledger as Ennis, the more reticent and soft-spoken of the two, and Gyllenhaal as Jack, more comfortable with his homosexuality. Jack is the impatient one, who believes it possible for them to establish life together instead of meeting only at intervals on what passes for fishing trips. But for Ennis, setting up a homosexual liaison in their environment would not be living in the real world. The film, with an astute screenplay by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana based on a short story by Annie Proulx, is marked by intense sadness at the frustrations of not being able to follow one’s desires and needs.

The visual sweep of the drama is reminiscent of the kind of outdoors look that director John Ford achieved. Canada is a stand-in for Wyoming, where Ennis and Jack meet when hired to guard a huge herd of sheep. Their extended stay on Brokeback Mountain brings them close together, culminating in their having sex and leaving emotional ties amid conflicted feelings.

Each subsequently tries to establish lives considered normal. Michelle Williams is impressive as Alma, whom Ennis marries and with whom he has two daughters. Their relationship is never the same after she accidentally observes him kissing Jack. Anne Hathaway is at first dazzling and later emotionally deflated as Lureen, the rodeo queen whom Jack marries. They have a son and Jack works for Lureen’s father in Texas.

Tenderness permeates the film as the years go by, whether between the men in their fleeting meetings, or in the relationship shown between Ennis and his grown daughter. There is a beautifully acted and directed scene between Ennis and Jack’s parents. Always lurking is the danger courted in the face of prejudice against homosexuality, and the film leaves a major plot development open for audience speculation as to what really happened.