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This little volume contains Annie Proulx's original short story version
of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN as it appeared in The New Yorker in 1997 along with
the screenplay to Ang Lee's film by Larry McMurtry (The Last Picture Show,
Terms of Endearment) and Diana Ossana. The screenwriters retained much of
the spareness, tension, and overt and threatened violence of the original
story. They even incorporate much of Proulx's unfilmable descriptions in
between the characters' speeches (perhaps as cues for method actors). The
biggest change from story to screen seems to be the expanded roles of the
women in the men's lives--the wives, girlfriends (created from whole
cloth), and Ennis's daughter, Alma Jr. This seems justified, given that
the story takes place over twenty years, a period in which both main
characters, Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar, carried out a spotty love affair
but constructed their public lives according to more conventional mores.
Ennis's love of his daughters is genuine and not a substitution or
consolation prize. And the fact that she can see her father's loneliness
only adds to the pathos of his situation.
Each writer contributes an essay about their experience bringing this
story to the big screen. Proulx's "Getting Movied" was especially
thoughtful and generous. The volume would have been nicely served,
however, had Ang Lee contributed an Introduction. If you're a movie
credits geek, this book concludes with the entire closing credits,
including the sheep wrangler and bear trainer. Also includes 8 pages of
black and white photos from the film.
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