Author Topic: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)  (Read 30573 times)

Offline moviegoer

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The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« on: Dec 23, 2005, 07:42 PM »
Wasn't Heath Ledger an amazing cowboy?

He was so wonderfully in character in that last scene that I could not understand what he said when he looked at Jack's clothes. It's his last line in the movie.

Thanks for clarification!

Offline bbm

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Re: What is Ennis' last line in the film? (Spoiler?)
« Reply #1 on: Dec 23, 2005, 07:49 PM »
Wasn't Heath Ledger an amazing cowboy?

He was so wonderfully in character in that last scene that I could not understand what he said when he looked at Jack's clothes. It's his last line in the movie.

Thanks for clarification!

Moviegoer, well Ennis was difficult to understand sometimes but he sure looks great as a cowboy  :) I think he said something like "Jack.."

I have this question myself too and someone else could clarify.
« Last Edit: Jan 24, 2006, 09:10 AM by ethan »
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Offline brokebackmountain

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Re: What is Ennis' last line in the film? (Spoiler?)
« Reply #2 on: Dec 25, 2005, 01:44 AM »
Ennis's last line in the film is "Jack, I swear". I am not sure what it means exactly. It is worth discussing.  :)


« Last Edit: Jan 29, 2006, 12:51 PM by ethan »
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Offline ranchgal

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Re: What is Ennis' last line in the film? (Spoiler?)
« Reply #3 on: Dec 25, 2005, 01:54 AM »
Ennis last line is "Jack I swear......"
and the book adds this-though Jack had never asked him to swear to anything, and was not the swearing kind himself.

I think it means:
....I'm sorry
...for the fight, for the words said that can't be taken back
...For not trying harder to get time in August
....Regretting there won't be a NOvember
....I'm sorry I have to live without you, and I'll never forget and there will never be anyone in my heart like you were.

Offline brokebackmountain

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Re: What is Ennis' last line in the film? (Spoiler?)
« Reply #4 on: Dec 25, 2005, 02:24 AM »
Ennis last line is "Jack I swear......"
and the book adds this-though Jack had never asked him to swear to anything, and was not the swearing kind himself.

I think it means:
....I'm sorry
...for the fight, for the words said that can't be taken back
...For not trying harder to get time in August
....Regretting there won't be a NOvember
....I'm sorry I have to live without you, and I'll never forget and there will never be anyone in my heart like you were.

I just love this movie - it is up to anyone's conclusion. It could mean

I swear that I love you
I swear that I miss you
I swear that you are and will be the only one
I swear that I will bring you with me back to Brokeback Mountain
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Offline Krispera

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Re: What is Ennis' last line in the film? (Spoiler?)
« Reply #5 on: Dec 27, 2005, 10:40 AM »
Well I saw the movie in french (I'm french  :D) I will try to translate.. I think he said '' If I could say.. '' say.. I LOVE YOU! Ennis never had a chance to say '' I love you '' to Jack.. it's make my cry  :-[

Offline brokebackmountain

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Re: What is Ennis' last line in the film? (Spoiler?)
« Reply #6 on: Dec 27, 2005, 10:50 AM »
Well I saw the movie in french (I'm french  :D) I will try to translate.. I think he said '' If I could say.. '' say.. I LOVE YOU! Ennis never had a chance to say '' I love you '' to Jack.. it's make my cry  :-[

Great to have a French perspective. Was it a subtitle or voiceover? It is sad that Ennis never had a chance to say that to Jack. Reading your post just makes my eyes teary. (The soundtrack helps too)  :'( :'( :'( :'(

Welcome Krispera!!
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Offline *Froggy*

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Re: What is Ennis' last line in the film? (Spoiler?)
« Reply #7 on: Dec 27, 2005, 12:29 PM »
Well I saw the movie in french (I'm french  :D) I will try to translate.. I think he said '' If I could say.. '' say.. I LOVE YOU! Ennis never had a chance to say '' I love you '' to Jack.. it's make my cry  :-[

Where and when did you see the movie lucky you!! 
Was the movie doub3ed or with subtitles...cos my friend told me that it ended like in the book..."Jack, I swear"
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Offline Krispera

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Re: What is Ennis' last line in the film? (Spoiler?)
« Reply #8 on: Dec 27, 2005, 12:35 PM »
With voices (french voices) In french : Jack.. si je pouvais te le dire .. then he started crying. I went Star Cité, at Montreal hehe.. I think I will go watch the movie again to make sure of what I heard but it's something like that! (IT'S something like that but it's not perfect, was not really looking.. something was deconcentrating me heh)
« Last Edit: Dec 27, 2005, 12:40 PM by Krispera »

Offline *Froggy*

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Re: What is Ennis' last line in the film? (Spoiler?)
« Reply #9 on: Dec 27, 2005, 12:38 PM »
OOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhh lucky you! :o

I have yet to see BBM and like i said before it's driving me nuts!

So unfair  :-\
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Offline *Froggy*

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Jack I swear...(possible spoiler)
« Reply #10 on: Dec 28, 2005, 02:23 PM »
Well hi everyone...Plagiarism...did i hear someone say plagiarism?

What did Ennis mean? I love the line because it has so many possible meanings, but regardless of Ennis' intent the line conveys his depth of feeling and his "forever" attachment to Jack. Here are some possibilities to finish the line:

"Jack, I swear I'll never forget you."

"Jack, I swear, I talk to you in my head as though you are still here."

"Jack, I swear there is no one else like you."


That was a great thread found on the net...so what do you think?

Here was my favourite reply...actually it was  jeffmallory's!


After reading these posts, there is one aspect I flushed out about the "I swear" comment. Yes, true, it is Ennis saying, I swear Jack, if I could do it over again, we'd be together.

What people may be missing is what leads up to this tear-filled moment of Ennis' -- his daughter's visit. Alma Jr. easily reports her decision to wed--to which we get a thoughtful pause from Ennis and the question, "does this Kurt love you?"

What is possibly going on for Ennis is not only the surprise of hearing about his daughter’s pending marriage (an accepted public display of ones love), but more than that, he notes the simplicity of her being able to openly and publicly announce her open love for the person she deems very important in her life. Ennis is floored by this and is deeply pained at how simple for some making that lovely commitment to your love can be. He feels sadness that he was never able to have this with his only true love. It is the only time he uses the word love. It's almost as if he is saying that he loves Jack in that same moment when he asks Alma the question.

Thus, after this heartbreaking and momentous revelation for Ennis, he says to the only reminder of his only true love, "I swear Jack, I love you and I wish it could have been as simple to say that as it was for my daughter just now. I swear, I'd do it all differently now. I swear jack, I miss you."

What do you think?

Also, Proulx writes at this point when Ennis looks at the shirts & postcard:

"...
He stepped back and looked at the ensemble through a few stinging tears.
'Jack, I swear--' he said, though Jack had never asked him to swear anything and was himself not the swearing kind."

WOW - How beautiful is that? Neither of them were "the kind" to be able to say, nor knew how to say, I love you. Furthermore, Jack never actually ever asked Ennis to tell him he loved him (...had never asked him [Ennis] to swear anything...). What a terrible predicament to be in. They didn't have the vocabulary for their situation. It was so foreign to them--just as it was for Alma Sr. when she saw them kiss--it just wasn't in their paradigm of reality!
« Last Edit: Dec 28, 2005, 03:05 PM by brokebackmountain »
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Offline brokebackmountain

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Re: Jack I swear...(possible spoiler)
« Reply #11 on: Dec 28, 2005, 03:12 PM »
WOW - How beautiful is that? Neither of them were "the kind" to be able to say, nor knew how to say, I love you. Furthermore, Jack never actually ever asked Ennis to tell him he loved him (...had never asked him [Ennis] to swear anything...). What a terrible predicament to be in. They didn't have the vocabulary for their situation. It was so foreign to them--just as it was for Alma Sr. when she saw them kiss--it just wasn't in their paradigm of reality![/color] [/b]

Froggy, that was a very good explanation you provided. It was so tragic but at the same so real. Until these days, they are still many struggling to express their emotions and love.

"I swear" is a very strong phrase from Ennis. He needs to be applauded.

OH...and I LOVE you guys - all the BBM fans.

Froggy - one more note - I merged the topic from the one you started. They seem to go together. I hope you don't mind.  :)
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Offline Krispera

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #12 on: Dec 28, 2005, 03:22 PM »
Wow, nice work! I think you said all the things we need to know.. this movie is so sad  :'(! Do you know wha? The jacket (of jack) and the shirt (of ennis) made me cry at the end when it was inversed  :'(

Offline *Froggy*

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Re: Jack I swear...(possible spoiler)
« Reply #13 on: Dec 28, 2005, 03:22 PM »
Froggy - one more note - I merged the topic from the one you started. They seem to go together. I hope you don't mind.  :)

not at all, i knew there was a similar thread, but the system kept bugging...so i posted it...hoping you would do what you did...cheers x
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Offline *Froggy*

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #14 on: Dec 28, 2005, 03:25 PM »
(! Do you know wha? The jacket (of jack) and the shirt (of ennis) made me cry at the end when it was inversed  :'(

I cry...(not so much now), reading the story..or watching the trailer....when i heard about the shirts, i knew i had to buy extra tissues!!!
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Offline brokebackmountain

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #15 on: Dec 28, 2005, 03:35 PM »
(! Do you know wha? The jacket (of jack) and the shirt (of ennis) made me cry at the end when it was inversed  :'(

I cry...(not so much now), reading the story..or watching the trailer....when i heard about the shirts, i knew i had to buy extra tissues!!!

I don't know why....every single time I read posts like these, it makes me goose bumps.  :'(
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Offline *Froggy*

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #16 on: Dec 28, 2005, 04:00 PM »
Nor can i explain why i am so moved by BBM...the story touches me in ways no other books or movies have! I cannot tell my friends why i am so in love with this story, i keep saying that they have to read it or come with me to the movies!
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Offline raughtic

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #17 on: Dec 28, 2005, 07:08 PM »
The main reason why the line "Jack I swear" is so effective in my mind is because
a - it's not some overused phrase that is often heard, it's totally unique to this movie/character/story in this context (it would have been silly if he would have said "I love you" all of a sudden at the end of the film)
b - it is open to some interpretation - people can decide what it means to them
c - it's totally something Ennis would say

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #18 on: Dec 28, 2005, 07:11 PM »
b - it is open to some interpretation - people can decide what it means to them

I agree, that's why it is so interesting to discuss, we get to see how other people interpreted it!
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Offline ranchgal

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #19 on: Dec 29, 2005, 07:54 PM »
QUOTE:After reading these posts, there is one aspect I flushed out about the "I swear" comment. Yes, true, it is Ennis saying, I swear Jack, if I could do it over again, we'd be together.QUOTE


It will never mean that to me.  Ennis couldn't live with Jack, he had lots of chances through the years esp. after he was divorced from Alma, and turned them down flat.
He was so ingrained with what was in his head, I believe it would be a complete impossibility for him to ever live with Jack, and since he will never have any other man, that leaves him alone.

I know lots of people will envision that they might be together.  But Ennis has NOT changed within himself--and if you asked him, he would still say he is straight, and even though he loved Jack more than anyone else in his whole life---he would never take the step to put him and and Jack together in a living situation.    People who are saying that, to me, are applying new age standards and ideas to an old age person--the two don't mix, and Ennis is one dog that is NOT going to learn new tricks.  I just could never see it happening.   those are just my own interpretations though, and as everyone knows---this movie is full of deciding for yourself what you see/read.

Offline borger1582

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #20 on: Dec 30, 2005, 02:01 AM »
I am really struggling with your post, ranchgal.  I wrote on the IMDB board that I believed Ennis did change, but in character - thus I agree with you that he still would not go back and "ranch up" with Jack, but he might have worked harder to give him more time.  Maybe it's just regret when he says "Jack, I swear . . ." and inside him he knows it could only have been the way it actually was.  ON THE OTHER HAND, especially after being confronted with the actual knowledge of Jack's infidelity, but "torquing it almost back to where it was," maybe Ennis would have changed.

On the IMDB board, several of us saw Ennis' last interaction with his daughter as evidence of this change, his "character arc" if you will.  Others pointed out that there were no social restraints on treating his daughter with greater love (e.g., missing work to attend her wedding) and those social restraints were still shackling Ennis.

Offline Wooski

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #21 on: Dec 30, 2005, 04:40 PM »

I have always taken that line to mean that if he could do it all again - knowing what he knew at the end - he would have done some things differently.  I'm not saying he would have setup ranch with Jack - but maybe he would have moved nearer or made their relationship easier.  Whatever - its a terrible situation and to fully realise that the other person loved you as much as you loved them - but perhaps never allowed yourself to believe - just heartbreaking.  The regret.

Offline ranchgal

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #22 on: Dec 30, 2005, 06:10 PM »
While I will certainly agree that" I swear.." may well mean he would have made more time, or used the time differently.   
I also agree that he would probably have made a much bigger effort to see Jack again in August, if he had it to do over.
But I still really am left with feeling his great overwhelming sense of LOSS more than anything else.   And in that context it could be just an expression that actually means NOTHING at all--he is just expressing such a total sense of loss--there isn't anything to add to it in his mind, and that just comes out of his mouth---it is a definate possibility.

I am not so sure that Ennis actually changed all that much!
Yes he did communicate better with his daughter, and seems to be concerned that her man really love her and be good to her---But I believe that tends to be experience, and natural maturing due to more years, rather than Ennis actually changing his views of himself---or his views of him and Jack together.  He doesn't really want her to end up like Alma did with him.  It has  nothing to do with the way He feels or was with Jack.      Because he lost his love, he is now concerned that they don't hurt the way he did, and the way he did when Alma and he divorced---though the former hurt much more than the latter.
That is more fatherly protectionism coming out (in my eyes) than any real ideas about love or anything to do with the way he related to Jack.

I have an interview that Heath did someplace, and Heath  states he doesn't believe Ennis changed or evolved his own ideas about himself either.   Hence that is why he is alone and will most likely remain so.    Everything in this is pretty much open to the viewers interpretations and own impressions.   And this is just mine.
« Last Edit: Dec 30, 2005, 06:15 PM by ranchgal »

Offline natalia

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #23 on: Dec 30, 2005, 06:23 PM »
I do somewhat agree with Ranchgal...
I don't think that Ennis' views had changed so significantly that if he were to do it over, he would have gone and lived on a ranch with Jack, happily ever after. I think that in his mind that sort of thing was impossible, something that couldn't be done and was so completely foreign from anything he'd ever experienced that he couldn't wrap his minf around it and Ennis is a character with a strong enough set of views that his mind wouldn't suddenly change (even if Jack had died)
But I think that Ennis regretted that he never really had the chance to tell Jack that he loved him... the even though he would never move onto a ranch with him, as Jack had wanted he had always loved him unconditionally and that would never change. Maybe Ennis just couldn't put it into words in Jacks lifetime, and now that Jack was gone he was not only swearing to Jack that he would always love him, but also being honest and upfront with himself.
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Offline ranchgal

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #24 on: Dec 30, 2005, 06:40 PM »
You said that very nice---and it works for me!! :)

Offline stationbbm

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #25 on: Jan 02, 2006, 04:52 PM »
Wonderful, wonderful perspectives on this important question...The final scene for Ennis does keep us asking what he must have meant, "Jack, I swear..."  You will also recall that when the camera pans back at Ennis, his eyes are heavily watered up...this is something more than a memory of Jack.  It immediately carried me back to that moment when he jumped back into the alley to release his hidden emotions when Jack drove away.  The clothes, the postcard of Brokeback and the raw emotions still helped me to internalize the depth of his love and sadness and despair and loneliness.  Ennis was a simple-minded cowboy who came into an accidental relationship that changed his life forever.  He had never been loved before and probably won't ever again.  While a cowboy doesn't necessarily say the words, there was no question of their spirited love for one another.  Regrets that he didn't specifically say those words to Jack?  Don't we all have those kinds of regrets? And yet I cannot help but think that when Ennis held Jack humming a song his mother used to sing to him in their final scene together...well, let there be no question.  It was said in a very "unspoken" cowboy way.  Please be mindful:  The cowboy genre in this film is a critical centerpiece.

Was Ennis changed?  Absolutely Ennis was changed...profoundly transformed...he found a way to love and be loved.  Would he be a better communicator? No cowboy would.  Would he run off with Jack and set up his own ranch?  Too risk averse to challenge the societal norms on that.  Would he likely find someone else to fill the void left by Jack?  I bet not.  Too used to being a loner and not willing to step out and take the chance again.  I really viewed the shirts and postcard hung up in his trailer as a type of personal sanctuary for him.  A private and comforting place that would take him back to Brokeback every single day of his life.

stationbbm

Offline Toadily

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #26 on: Jan 02, 2006, 04:56 PM »
Well put, it's like his "place" he can be with Jack.

One thing that kills me seeing it again was when they first leave Brokeback you know the heart
break ahead and I felt like Ennis and wanted to throw up.  Jack is the optimist who thought he
would see him again and thus wasn't as upset.  I think that the line "this letter is long overdue"
in his first postcard is telling, he thought they would see each other the following summer.
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Offline tpe

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #27 on: Jan 03, 2006, 11:36 AM »
*****SPOILER ALERT*******

First of all, I consider it very powerful that both the short story and the film leave a lot of the most significant things unsaid -- in a way, sort of open-ended. 

The 'Jack, I swear' scene is perhaps one of the most beautiful examples of this economy ( the other being the 'sexless' embrace shown as a flashback at the end of their final meeting).

I think it is precisely this economy that keeps a lot of us going back again and again to the many wonderful scenes in this movie.

As for the phrase in question, I do believe it implies two things:  undying love and eternal regret.

Let me elaborate a bit by sharing a few thoughts.

The original story from Proulx's collection 'Close Range' is a bit harsher than the movie when it comes to the 'Jack, I swear' scene.  In the original story, Ennis says 'Jack, I swear', and the narrator comments that Jack was never the swearing kind, nor did he ever insist that Ennis to do the same (my loose paraphrase).

The film seems to be a bit more explicit and more forgiving in that the scene the preceeds the swearing shows Alma Jr. announcing her intention to marry.  In this wonderful sequence of events, Ennis says to his daughter: 'This Kurt fella, does he love you?' -- the only time the word LOVE is ever said in the entire 2 1/4 hours of the film!  If should also be pointed out that this entire 'marriage announcement' scene is absent from the original story.

According to the original screenplay, Alma Jr. is surprised and touched by her father's concern, and affirms Kurt's love for her.  Immediately after her affirmation, Ennis initially excuses himself from attending the wedding, but changes his mind ('Tell you what...They can find themselves another cowboy [to do his work in the Tetons next summer]').  After toasting Alma Jr. and Kurt, the screenplay says that Ennis looks at his 'luminous' daughter, but cannot completely hide the regret in his face for WHAT HE CAN'T HAVE, FOR WHAT HE WILL NEVER HAVE.

The fact that the 'Jack, I swear' scene comes right after the wedding announcement and the affirmation of love speaks volumes  -- more than all the special effects in a King Kong or a Star Wars epic.

My interpretation is this: it is Ennis' own affirmation of love -- and regret.  Ennis has finally understood a deeper facet of love.  This understanding shines thru when he surprisingly accepts his daughter's wedding invitation (he has at least come to a realization of life's true priorities).  It shines thru when he sees all too clearly his daughter's blossoming love for her husband to be. 

And it is this realization of love both raises Ennis up and crushes him. 

It is because with the realization of his own Love, Ennis also realizes that it is a bit too late for him and Jack.  And the final shot outside the window in a way affirms all of this, for the last words of the screenplay calls to our attention a deep sense of BEAUTY and a profound LONELINESS (the 'vast bleakness of the northern plains') that comes with having loved and having affirmed that love all too late.

Offline stationbbm

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #28 on: Jan 03, 2006, 11:52 AM »
TPE:  This response is spot on!  No doubt about it.  The timing and sequence of the conversation with Alma, Jr. and the reflection on his relationship with Jack is NO accident.  Those scenes do exactly what you state by bringing the audience into an understanding of Ennis's realization about love and its affirmation all too late.  This is precisely why Ledger will garner the Academy Award in my mind...he so amazingly transforms the Ennis character from beginning to end.  A brilliant study and performance.

Thank you for your thoughtful and generous insight, particularly in comparative to the screenplay and original short story.

stationbbm

Offline tpe

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Re: The Last Line from Ennis (possible spoiler)
« Reply #29 on: Jan 03, 2006, 11:58 AM »
Thanks stationbbm  :)

The story and the film have so much in them.  I usually can't see my friends these days without some kind of discussion about a scene from the movie or a line from the screenplay.

I am not sure if it will win any Oscars.  But for me, it is THE BEST film of 2005 and perhaps one of the few I will never tire seeing again and again.