I read the short story more than a decade ago, and don’t remember that much about it, but I was still puzzled when (I think) three quarters of the short story was over, and there was still 90 minutes to go. What were they going to fill the rest of the time with? But they did better than expected. Some scenes were risible SO MUCH DRAMA scenes that I sprained my eyes rolling them (like the one where Maggie Gyllenhaal’s brother and his stepfather quarrel about the TV set), but some of the new scenes worked.
(Of course, I may be misremembering the short story…)
It would have been a better film if they’d just filmed the short story, but it’s pretty swell the way it is. And perhaps it wouldn’t have won as many Oscars. The short story is kinda harsh.
Brokeback Mountain. Ang Lee. 2005.
