I Rewatched Brokeback Mountain, And All These Years Later, I'm Still Upset That It Didn't Win Best Picture. Here's Why.

Okay, so hear me out. I do not hate the movie Crash. And I mean the 2004 Paul Haggis film. Not the identically titled movie by David Cronenberg. I know it’s popular to dogpile on Crash, especially since it won Best Picture. But, I honestly kind of like it.

Is it one of the best movies to ever win Best Picture? God no. Is it heavy handed as all hell? Absolutely. That said, I don’t think it’s a bad movie in any way. However, I’m still upset that it beat Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture, even after all these years.

Because after rewatching Brokeback, I think I love it now even more than when I initially saw it. So, here’s why I’m still a little pissed that Brokeback Mountain didn’t win Best Picture back in 2006.

Heath Ledger And Jake Gyllenhaal Were Fearless In Their Performances, And These Roles Are The Highlights Of Their Respective Careers

Brokeback Mountain isn’t my favorite Jake Gyllenhaal movie. That would be Nocturnal Animals. It’s also not my favorite Heath Ledger movie. That would be The Dark Knight.

However, in both of their respective careers–Jake Gyllenhaal’s long one, and Heath Ledger’s relatively short one–I still think that these were the bravest, most fearless roles that either of them ever did. It’s little wonder that both of them were nominated at the 76th Academy Awards, with Ledger up for Best Actor, and Gyllenhaal for up Best Supporting Actor (Which neither of them won, unfortunately).

The story of two cowboys who fall in love between 1963 and 1983, Brokeback Mountain was a landmark film, and honestly could have been the death of either actor’s career, even back in 2005. But honestly, it seems like neither of them cared. Scenes of them having sex or passionately kissing were rather explicit, but it’s not like it was banging us over the head with its themes.

On the contrary, it was all quite elegant. Their vulnerability was palpable, and it made their romance feel both irresistible, but also dangerous, which it was. In that way, Brokeback Mountain wasn’t heavy handed like Crash was with its themes of racism. It was actually quite subtle, which likely wouldn’t have been the case without Ang Lee’s Academy Award-winning directing (The one major award that this film did win), or Gyllenhaal’s and Ledger’s superb acting.

In every way, these were the performances of a lifetime, and if the film couldn’t pick up Best Picture, I would have liked it if either Gyllenhaal or Ledger had nabbed one of the Best Actor awards. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be.

The Story Is Still Beautiful, Haunting, And Relevant

Jack Twist, played by Gyllenhaal, and Ennis Del Mar, played by Ledger, love each other. That said, they can’t fully love each other. That’s because even though they want to, society dictates that they shouldn’t, and, more importantly, that they can’t.

Yes, they make excuses to see each other, but over the years, they grow apart and both of them get married to women and have children. Their love for each other lasts for years, and neither of them are truly happy with their lives since they miss each other so much, and wish to be together.

And, God Almighty, is that heartbreaking, or what? This isn’t a Romeo and Juliet story, and yet, it kind of is. Both of their respective families look upon their relationship with disgust, and it’s almost like the Montagues and the Capulets in a way, with their wives being the stand-ins for the parents.

That said, it’s society itself that is keeping them apart, because if they were born later or lived in a different part of the country, perhaps they could have lived out their dreams. And, that’s the true tragedy of the film, but also what makes it incredibly relevant. Because while same-sex relationships are still frowned upon in certain corners of the country, it’s accepted in many others.

The setting is important though, and why we ranked this film as one of the greatest westerns of all time. Because who knows? If this story were set in San Francisco, it might have had a different outcome. But, it’s because it takes place in a part of the country where homosexuality might be seen as a sin that it still feels relevant today.

That Said, It Still Feels Like A Time Capsule

Though it didn’t make the list of best LGBTQ+ movies on Rotten Tomatoes, I still feel like Brokeback Mountain is an important film, and mostly because it’s such a time capsule.

Just think, same-sex marriage became legal in all 50 states by 2015. That’s a whole decade after Brokeback Mountain came out, which is kind of mind-boggling. In fact, if Brokeback Mountain came out today, I guarantee that it would still be up for Best Picture.

That said, even though its story is still bold and ambitious, I don’t think it has the same potency today that it had back then, and that’s because we’ve actually come a long way since 2005. In a lot of ways, Brokeback Mountain walked so that a movie like Moonlight could run, as the idea of a film about two gay lovers doesn’t really seem all that revolutionary anymore.

Which is great! Brokeback Mountain kind of broke the mold by taking two very popular actors at the time and putting them in a movie like this. It wasn’t a film that hid from its premise, but rather, embraced it, which makes it feel all the more important.

And, while I’m not for awarding a movie just because it’s important, I do feel like Brokeback Mountain was more important to the zeitgeist than a movie like Crash, which seemed like it had a lot to say, but didn’t really say anything (You mean that racism is bad, and that we shouldn’t judge people on one encounter alone? Really? I didn’t know that).

So, in that way, Brokeback Mountain is still relevant, but it’s also a time capsule to a bygone era, and one that I feel should have been awarded for Best Picture. But, there’s one other major reason why I think it should have won.

It’s Absolutely Better Than Crash

I haven’t beaten around the bush when it comes to this article: Brokeback Mountain is, quite simply, a better movie than Crash. The acting is better. The direction is better. The story is better. Pretty much everything is better.

And again, this is coming from somebody who actually likes Crash. So much so that if Crash came out another year, I really don’t have a problem with it winning, as shoot, Driving Miss Daisy won. Hell, Green Book won Best Picture, and I actually think Crash is better than that film.

However, Crash is not better than Brokeback Mountain, which still holds up today. In a lot of ways, Brokeback kind of feels like the Facebook movie, The Social Network, in that it perfectly represents a time and a place.

Crash could have represented a time. But, it really just feels like a stew of events that is all stirred up together, which isn’t bad, per se, but it doesn’t (and didn’t back then, even) feel worthy of beating Brokeback Mountain, which was both about the time presented in the film, but also about the time when it was released.

That’s why after rewatching Brokeback Mountain, I’m still of the opinion that it really should have won, and it stands as one of the most egregious losses in all of the Academy Awards history.

But, what do you think? Do you agree that Brokeback Mountain should have beaten Crash for Best Picture? I’d love to hear your thoughts.