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.
Book
review
Both the short story and screenplay are likely to
move you to tears, make you feel like somebody's pulling your guts out
hand over hand a yard at a time, as Annie Proulx writes of Ennis. They can
also make you treasure love more.
Proulx's prose is pure poetry. The screenplay is one of the best I've
read -- a terrific read and a faithful adaptation and expansion. It's
fascinating to have them side by side, to see how certain characters and
events were fleshed out, how for example a single sentence [about a
terrible misunderstanding of Jack's, for those who know the story] became
a tear-jerking three-page sequence of scenes.
The story, script and movie all add depth to each other, like three
tellings of the same tale that emphasize different shades. If you're
interested in delving deeper into the lives and loves of these characters
and the starkly beautiful honesty of this world, buy this book.
In addition to the story and script, the book includes three eloquent
essays by Proulx and each of the screenwriters, Larry McMurtry and Diana
Ossana. These offer a good deal of insight and color to the story and
whole development process, from Proulx's germ of an idea for a short story
to the screenwriters shepherding the project for years, to each of their
reactions to the final film. Fascinating and powerful. Strongly
recommended.
Author
introduction
Although Annie Proulx didn't start her career
as a writer until she was in her 50s, in 1993 E. Annie Proulx became the
first woman to win the prestigious PEN/Faulkner book award, for her debut
novel Postcards. The following year she won a Pulitzer Prize and the
National Book Award for her novel The Shipping News. She is also the
author of Accordion Crimes (1996) and several short stories. |