Last night I overheard a local conservative radio broadcaster slam Brokeback Mountain as that “gay cowboy movie" that is symptomatic of why “nobody" wants to go to the movie theaters today (certainly a movie that he'll never watch). He then went on to pine over the loss of the John Wayne years when there were no “gay cowboys."

As ignorantly homophobic as that all sounds to anyone who's actually entered the 21st century, it's scarier to realize that this conventional mentality continues to run rampant throughout the American mainstream. There is no way to convince any such close-minded individuals that Brokeback Mountain stretches a far larger canvas across all sexual orientations and reaches deep into the human condition; so, if you agree with that radio host, read no more--this review isn't for you. Go back to your simple John Wayne cowboy flicks that only require the Duke to show up in his movie star persona and shoot up the bad guys and Navajo extras.

Referring to Brokeback Mountain as a “gay cowboy movie" grossly oversimplifies Ang Lee's deftly crafted adaptation of Annie Proulx's haunting 1997 short story. While sketching the "forbidden love" that overwhelms two Marlboro men, the film explores repressed feelings, loneliness, suffering, and alienation as adroitly as any film in recent memory.

If there were a prize for the film that most closely captures the essence of its source material, Lee's project stands alone--while characters are fleshed out more, screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana retain Proulx's sparse dialog (almost in its entirety) and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto expertly navigates both open mountain ranges and closed interiors to capture Proulx's settings. Although Gus Van Sant had originally expressed interest in directing the project, Ang Lee demonstrates that he is more than up for the challenge. That is no surprise, given the subtleties and repressed feelings of his leading characters in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Ice Storm.

Some are certain to champion Brokeback Mountain as a political landmark film due to the seriousness and purity of its same sex love and the fact that two recognizable “A-list" actors are cast in the leads. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger are no John Waynes, but that's a good thing for this project. Gyllenhaal and Ledger demonstrate that they can act! Gyllenhaal has taken on previous quirky characters (like Donnie Darko), but Ledger has mostly landed roles that used him from pretty boy window dressing. Never again--Ledger's role as taciturn Ennis Del Mar establishes him as a talented actor with a wide emotional range that flickers and rages within his restrained body.

Set in the summer of 1963, Joe Aguire (Randy Quaid) hires Ennis and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal) to herd his sheep on Wyoming's Brokeback Mountain. Isolated from the rest of the world, their closemouthed friendship develops slowly and naturally until one cold night of furious and violent sex. Engaged to a girl back home and thinking this a one night post-drunk thing, Ennis declares that he "ain't no queer." Jack responds, "I ain't neither." But the sexual encounters continue through the summer.

The more outgoing of the two, Jack fantasizes that they can buy a ranch and live together, but Ennis is more cautious. He's haunted by a childhood memory of two grown men living like this that were murdered for doing so; for all he knows, his own father may have bludgeoned one of them. This is 35 years before Wyoming rednecks crucified Mathew Shepherd, and Ennis doesn't see any hope for continuing their relationship. Forced to part, they enter mundane livelihoods and loveless marriages--Ennis remaining in Wyoming while Jack settles into Texas.

It's four years before Jack stops for a visit, and the two discover that their spontaneous passions expressed on Brokeback Mountain have grown to stronger feelings than they ever imagined. Taking occasional fishing trip trysts over the next 16 years, the doomed love affair leads to inevitable heartbreak that leads many an audience member to tears. And if you're not prone to cry during movies, you're not likely to forget a number of poignant scenes.

Told primarily through Ennis' eyes, Ledger carries this movie flawlessly, shedding his persona so completely that it seems that he's part of a documentary. Oscar nominees require hitting one major “home run" scene; Ledger connects with at least two--the first parting scene where he dismisses Jack with a curt “See ya around" before quietly breaking down in an alley and the one near the end. Also quite touching is a scene with his oldest daughter telling about her coming marriage. When he asks her, “Does he love you?" we realize that he truly understands how important this value has become to him.

In its pure essence, Brokeback Mountain is a love story. Deconstruct it as much as you want, but Ang Lee knows exactly what he's doing when planting Ennis and Jack in the luxurious beauty of mountain lakes and landscapes for their brief encounters and dragging them into darkened apartments, closed rooms, and tiny trailers when back with society approved wife and kids. But beyond the setting, Lee casts his movie perfectly. Ledger and Gyllenhaal deserve all the accolades they receive, but Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway also effectively portray their disillusioned wives. Williams' character especially gropes to understand this unfathomable and unspeakable love affair that she discovers Ennis is having.

Lee wisely incorporates the heart of Proulx's story, constructing one of the year's strongest films that should cross the coming decades like other universal works of art. For as long as the grass grows and the water flows, people will continue to struggle with love relationships. It's always difficult to find the right words and the right way to express it; but it's even more intense when family and societal pressures come to bear, causing people to choose between practical convenience and their ideals.

Although the film's scope is narrowly confined to the two primary characters, a side effect likely to occur will be discussions about the nature of homosexual love that get beyond stereotypical misconceptions. A number of mainstream people are certain to condemn Brokeback Mountain without even seeing it, but that's alright. They would miss the deeper layers that take place beyond that first kiss anyway.