Why 'Brokeback Mountain' still stuns 15 years later, as a universal love story and LGBTQ triumph

I remember the first time I heard about "Brokeback Mountain," the love story between two cowboys.

My mom told me that my grandfather enjoyed the movie. A simple sentence, one that other prepubescent children might have forgotten. But as a closeted gay child, this sentence meant everything to me. It meant that maybe, someday, if I ever realized or told someone that I was gay, at least one person I knew close to me would be OK with it.

And 15 years later, that's the film's legacy.

"Brokeback Mountain," which arrived in theaters on Dec. 9, 2005, still stuns as a universal love story trapped in an unforgiving, hateful time. Director Ang Lee's film is also worth watching again and again to witness the importance of not merely tolerance, but unquestionable acceptance. 

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What is 'Brokeback Mountain' about?

"Brokeback Mountain" begins with two cowboys in 1963 Wyoming: Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger). They work atop the titular mountain for a summer, herding sheep and eating beans. The pair's natural chemistry and banter develops into a sexual relationship – and ultimately a loving one. But neither can express what's obvious to all watching, even with each other.

"It's nobody's business but ours," Jack tells Ennis. Ennis insists he isn't "queer," and Jack says the same. Nonetheless, they carry on an affair for nearly two decades. Both marry women, have kids and sneak away for "fishing trips" together.

Over time, Jack grows increasingly frustrated with not being able to spend more time with Ennis and even suggests they get a ranch together. Ennis is less than sold on the idea and can refer to their love only as "this thing" that takes hold of them when they're around each other. Even after Ennis and his wife, Alma (Michelle Williams), divorce, he still can't be all in with Jack the way Jack wants.

(Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen the movie and don't want to know.)

"I wish I knew how to quit you," Jack says, invoking the film's most famous line. It's implied a short time after that Jack is killed, perhaps in a hate crime – the very thing Ennis was always afraid of, after seeing the aftermath of such a murder when he was a child.

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Does 'Brokeback Mountain' still resonate?

An initial thought that may percolate in a film nerd's head is that "Brokeback Mountain" lost the 2006 best picture Oscar to "Crash" – a decision that has left heads scratching to this day. But there's much more to talk about than losing an award.

The film broke ground for the LGBTQ community the same way "Philadelphia" did more than a decade earlier, bringing the AIDS discussion to mainstream audiences and earning Tom Hanks his first Oscar. "Brokeback," on top of eight Oscar nominations, also showed that there was an audience for gay stories: It made $178 million worldwide. 

But the chief piece of its footprint on film is the love story. 

The actual "love" part of the story of Jack and Ennis is simple, despite difficult circumstances, and happens quickly. Other high-caliber LGBTQ movies, like "Call Me By Your Name" and "Portrait of a Lady on Fire," are beautiful, but the build-up to the romance makes up more of the film than the romance itself.

"Brokeback Mountain" takes a different approach: The main characters have sex before the film wraps up its first act, allowing viewers to linger in the established love for the rest of the movie.

This decades-long, nuanced relationship, presented to a mass audience, altered the way people felt about gay romance and reflected a growing broader societal shift in favor of gay rights. And while that shift has panned out in some respects, there's still more work to be done.

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It may seem like gay culture has changed tremendously since the movie's release. "Don't Ask Don't Tell," the ban on gays in the military, was repealed in 2010. The Supreme Court has since both legalized gay marriage and made it illegal to fire someone if they are gay, lesbian or transgender. 

But the LGBTQ community is still under threat and remains without certain federal protections. 

One film on its own cannot inherently create sweeping change. But "Brokeback Mountain," just by telling the story of two cowboys in love and the societal conventions that tore them apart, instructs its audience to listen.

Sure, the film has its issues. Did straight actors take on roles in a gay love story? Yes. Did one of those characters die in service to the plot? Yes. Were these characters miserable through most of the film? Yes.

But anything that could move the needle further toward LGBTQ acceptance is a film worth watching and discussing – especially one that also doesn't choose to put a sexuality label on its main characters, suggesting they aren't even necessary.

When I think of a modern day Jack and Ennis, I picture them eyeing each other across a crowded bar (post-pandemic) in the same cowboy hats and jeans. Daring each other to make a move. No trauma holding them back, no secrets, no lies. Just smiling and flirting – everything society should've afforded them in the first place.

My fervent hope: A parent or guardian watches this film, looks over at the teenager next to them and says how much they enjoyed the movie.

You have no idea how that affirmation could change a life.

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