.. to answer my own question written near the end of this post ..No, I DID NOT mind watching movie about gay people. Even when they stereotyped Brokeback Mountain as "a gay cowboy movie" and homophobes banned it anywhere, anytime they could .. I remained to what I've always believed that sometimes you cannot choose the one you love. It just happened. Be it male on male. What put it into delay was because it's got tremendous hypes, so massive that it successfully let me down before I saw it. Spoilers, parodies, movie clips, that 30-second bunnies (which was really hilarious, by the way, especially when the sheep and the elk kissed at the end). Felt like I'd been hit by Brokeback Mountain debris everywhere I turned. To add salt into injury, it was directed by Ang Lee, who is a very good director with his style, but the name always pronounces "Slow Movies" to my ears. Then 4 years later, should I start to give it a chance? For you, Jake, I'd ride the horse and climb the mountain. And I say. Though I had to endure the silence at the beginning of the movie (God, Ang Lee, when would you ask the actors to start talking already?), I'm happy I stayed since it ended up being absolutely .. beautiful. It deserved every Oscar it won (directing, writing and music), and for many other awards nominations it received. Totally deserved my victory dance. Stunning cinematography, subtle score .. and what lead the movie to be what it is, was a masterpiece of art from the director. I think only Ang Lee who has a capability to turn something this provocative into a touching love story. Then I had to put the rest to those wonderful actors, who made everything so believable, so delicate it left no space for sarcasm and disgust. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, not a single moment I had in my mind that they're less of men themselves. Their courage to take these rewarding roles and how they took all the prejudice thrown at them, it's like the most professional dedication they could give to their acting career and to the movie industry. Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist are indeed their roles of a lifetime. Sure there's a particular scene that really got my head spinning pretty badly (jeez, and I thought I was well-prepared), but I love all scenes that involved these two fine men. There are many obvious tenderness and purity reflected in it. I, am specifically drawn to Jack Twist. I understand how difficult the situation for Ennis, but come on, how could he reject those dreamy eyes? (Later I found this amusing comment: "Jake Gyllenhaal must be part puppy with those eyes". Made me kinda wonder it's indeed true, might need to check his birth certificate). And the monologue Jack gave to Ennis on their last fishing trip, where you got the famous "I wish I knew how to quit you" quote, so bitter it broke my heart. Jake Gyllenhaal is great, without any less respect to Heath Ledger's accomplishment, I wonder why he'd been categorized in a supporting role instead of leading role. And how Alma Del Mar, played by Michelle Williams at her best, could call him "Jack Nasty" .. and some closeted minds targeting this movie as a humiliation to Lee, Heath, Jake and all cowboys in the world .. those things, see, I'm still digesting.
Let me move on to Jarhead. After being gay cowboy, now Jake Gyllenhaal is a marine during the Gulf War. War movies' never been my preference. But just because it has Jake in it .. and his brother-in-law Peter Sarsgaard, who happened to be one of my fave too .. so yeah I gave it a shot. Turned out it's quite good, especially the first half of the movie where there were the most of low-key humor that made me grinning. Jake's acting wise, I personally believe it's on par to what he's done in Brokeback Mountain. Only this time, nobody would question his sexual orientation. He portrayed a real person name Anthony Swofford, who's trained to be a sniper but never had a chance to fire his rifle. One best scene happened after Swofford's been punished for neglecting his watch-duty in Christmas Eve, when he threatened his buddy with a loaded rifle .. emotional words flew as fast as bullets fired .. my heart skipped a couple of beats there, almost couldn't stand the tension. Definitely it's a g-u-y movie, pardon my pun.
Then I re-watched Proof. When I saw it in cinema a few years back, I could only give short comments posted in other mailist: "Adu debat dan aktingnya melawan Gwyneth Paltrow terbukti mampu membuat gue tetap alert waktu nonton film yang penuh dialog panjang-panjang ini". When I thought this movie was difficult because of the math logic and sanity premise, when I thought Gwyneth and Anthony Hopkins delivered all their lines in full gear and deafening volume, when I thought how could Jake Gyllenhaal looked so different than he was in his previous movies. That was then. Now after I've seen Brokeback Mountain and Jarhead, put Proof in between, I finally can make a connection. Three good movies in the same year. He's matured and he picked the right point to start from. My opinion on Proof after the 2nd session, is that this movie has a simple storyline, dialogues are heavy and strong, acting .. is definitely a blast. Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Jake Gyllenhaal and Hope Davis .. all four of them! Though I still can't understand about 30% of the math logic, with these actors involved, I will go ahead pretending I am smart. I've watched it three times now and it just keeps getting better, more entertaining (and the 30% been reduced to 20%). The star of the movie is Gwyneth, no doubt about it. She carried her character, named Catherine, fluidly into the world between insanity and sanity. Hard to tell. But what I like most, is Hal. He's like the sun that brought light into Catherine's life. He's the one that could improve her mood and made her laugh. I repeated the very one scene of Catherine and Hal sitting at the terrace (see picture here), and then they kissed (see picture here) .. gah .. that was the sweetest moment ever. Jake as Hal, is just too adorable. Never get bored of the scene, never get enough of Hal.
I will only give short comments on the following movie: Zodiac. Despite of the stellar casts involved in this movie, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, Chloe Sevigny .. with David Fincher directed them .. this certainly not my kind of movie. It tells story of the unsolved case of Zodiac Killer. I couldn't take the brutal murder scenes, ooooh the horror. I felt like being trapped in a dark room without any sign of hope for almost three hours. Not even the lightest character, Robert Graysmith, could help. Well, yeah maybe he could. But that doesn't change me to like this movie. I could say that based on Jake's performance only, he's a little bit awkward with not enough screen presence at the first half of the movie. But at the second half when his character grew and stepped up to the lead, now that is when I feel the movie's very lucky to have Jake Gyllenhaal in it.
Rendition. I caught it on HBO. Seeing Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, Peter Sarsgaard and Jake Gyllenhaal .. who could resist? Perhaps I should have known better. I don't mind the story about prejudice that once again put someone who's innocent into deep trouble just because of his race, nationality or religion. But I do mind its parallel story, that made me believe I could finally learn why young terrorists could conduct suicide bombings. Jeez. Rendition touched a very dangerous subject, and it's too cruel. I don't like it at all. Well, at least I could enjoy Peter Sarsgaard performance .. and Jake who appeared so damn serious as CIA analyst Douglas Freeman. I'm glad he got this sympathetic role, the only character in this movie that had guts to take risks. Other than that, it's so-so.
And that's all for now.
I'm delighted to change my favourite list of Jake's movie character. It's now is .. Harold Dobbs (Hal), of course. Homer Hickam comes 2nd. Jack Twist comes 3rd. As for his movie, Brokeback Mountain is the best so far. And for Jake Gyllenhaal himself, I love his eyes the most. Then his acting. Then his smile. Then his laughs. Then the way he kissed that girl in Bubble Boy, Emmy Rossum, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman, Gemma Arterton and Heath Ledger. I just wish it was me he kissed.
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