"Girls don't fall in love with fun!"

I just got back from Brokeback Mountain, and I'm still a little sniffly. I went by myself, which means I had no compunctions about crying through more or less the entire final half hour. It was terribly sad, but thoroughly beautiful, and successful on multiple levels--well-acted, shot, and edited, in addition to being a sensitive and tender treatment of a delicate and complex subject. The scenery was exquisite, the music was spot on, and although there were scenes that were difficult to watch, I'd definitely see the film (and cry) again.

I haven't read the short story, but I could sense E. Annie Proulx throughout: something in the dialogue, the characters' names, and the situations. I had been terribly disappointed in--and couldn't even finish--the screen adaptation of The Shipping News (an amazing book), but Brokeback seems to have fared much better in translation.

In general I haven't been a big fan of cowboys, horses, or Wyoming... but this is an engaging, moving love story that transcends such small details (and it doesn't hurt that all three were completely gorgeous!).