Why Ennis Del Mar is such an important movie character

                                                                                By Tom Pacak

“My daddy, he made sure me and brother seen it. Hell for all I know, he done the job.” This quote was said by Ennis Del Mar (played by the late Heath Ledger) from “Brokeback Mountain” who is describing a horrific hate crime, an image that helped shape his own self-loathing. At a young age, Ennis’s father took him and his brother to see the aftermath of a murder. The individual murdered was a homosexual man who was the town joke. Fast forward to present day, Ennis Del Mar is a laconic rancher living in Wyoming in 1963. He is married to Alma Beers (played by Michelle Williams) but Ennis has secret feelings for a rancher (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who he met while ranching on Brokeback Mountain. Ennis is a man who wants to love but doesn’t quite know how. Witnessing the aftermath of the murder, forced him to hate homosexuality and his own sexual desires. 

            The film opens with two ranchers showing up in the Wyoming Mountains to herd sheep over the summer. The two men are Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist. Ennis is the quieter one, while Jack is the more reckless and talky. Once the two men are settled in at Brokeback, a romance of perfect juxtaposition blossoms. The two men agree that they can’t live together and they must meet every couple years to continue their friendship. They both end up marrying women and having families while struggling with their own feelings for one another. The married women both know about their respected husband’s infidelities. Anne Hathaway is great at showing Lureen Newsome’s negligence of Jack’s feelings by caring more about the family business. Michelle Williams really captures an empathetic approach but also a point of view where she must also come to societal norms and not accept Ennis’s behavior. A pivotal scene in the film shows Jack and Ennis embracing in kissing after years without seeing each other which Alma witnesses. The scene captures all three characters living in a different place. The two men are living in a fantasy, while Alma is in reality.

            Ang Lee’s films are about characters that are products of their own environments. In “Hulk”, Bruce Banner is a man who must overcome being a superhero, and in “Life of Pi”, Pi must persevere being lost in the ocean. “Brokeback Mountain” is a film about characters that live in an impossible place that must survive living there. The film shows the two men’s different reactions to living in a hate filled world. Jack wants to find love with a man even though that is impossible. Jack’s father recounts toward the end of the film that, “Then this spring, he got another fella gonna come up here with him. Build a place, help run the ranch. Was gonna split up with his wife and come back here. But like most of Jack’s ideas… never did come to pass.”

            What really strikes me about Ennis Del Mar is his refusal to live a life with Jack. It is clear throughout the movie, that Ennis loves Jack more than his own wife. The scenes with Ennis and Alma show Ennis barely having emotion towards her, once Ennis is with Jack; Ennis is all excited and talky towards him. Ennis Del Mar is a tragic character that tries to resist love, even though he can’t. He is more accepting of living in fear but also sad that he must. Ennis Del Mar is a simple man with simple desires. He’s not a man trying to be a millionaire or be a celebrity, he’s a man who’s trying to get by. There is a sign of hope for Ennis towards the end. Once visiting Jack’s parents to pick up the shirts they fought in on Brokeback, Ennis places both shirts in his closet. Ennis places both shirts on a hanger with Jack’s being inside of Ennis’s. This is a symbolic moment that shows that Jack will always have a special place in Ennis’s heart.