Movie review - "Brokeback Mountain" 2005 ***1/2

A film that hit the zeitgeist in the way that few others have in recent memory - Lost in Translation would be one, Pulp Fiction, Marty, etc. In addition to a strong central gimmick - gay cowboys - it has some stunning location photography, senstive handling and good acting. Heath Ledger seems to be nabbing a lot of the kudos, mainly I guess because he gets to be taciturn and tormented and has that scene with the shirt, but Jake Glyenhall is even better as the chattier and smarter cowboy (Ledger's character seems unable to live above the poverty line). But the film is stolen by Michelle Williams as the sad eyed wife of Ledger. Anne Hathaway is fine as Glyenhall's wife, though her variety of wigs is a little distracting. Moving at the end, but it did feel a bit long - did we need that whole subplot about Heath and the waitress? Could have easily been set in Australia.