By John Polly

Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger talk about their Brokeback Mountain roles, their personal investments in the film, and why it matters.

Believe the buzz. Brokeback Mountain, the acclaimed short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx, which drew raves when it first appeared in 1997, is now a film and is heading your way. And yes, it's good. Very, very good. Think an epic love story on a Titanic-scale, which is gorgeously filmed against a stark and stunning Western landscape. From start to finish, the film is carefully made and well-acted, not to mention respectful, heartbreaking and powerful. Led by career-making performances by its two stars, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger (the Oscar buzz has already begun), Brokeback Mountain delivers, more than any other gay-themed film that has preceded it, a humane, visceral love story that may just have even the sternest movie critics among us sobbing into their Stetson.

Boasting a screenplay by the always brilliant Larry McMurtry (Terms of Endearment, Lonesome Dove) and Diana Ossana, Brokeback Mountain is gently and lovingly directed by Ang Lee, known for telling humane stories (Sense & Sensibility, The Ice Storm) as well as crafting films of rousing action or heartfelt laughs (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Wedding Banquet). Even the film's haunting and delicately mesmerizing score, by Gustavo Santaolalla, finely supplements the onscreen desire and tension. And, as you've no doubt also heard, the film stars two handsome, gifted, up-and-coming actor in the roles of two star-crossed cowhands. And it all works beautifully.

The basic story? Jack (Gyllenhaal) and Ennis (Ledger) meet while working together one summer herding sheep in Wyoming, the two of them sequestered way up in the hills on Brokeback Mountain. They become friends, and then more. And they fall in love. The summer ends and they part, resigned to the fact that in 1963 Wyoming, guys like them don't have a chance of making a go of any kind of real relationship thanks to society's bigotry and their own fear. A few years later they reunite, and then proceed to meet up for "fishing trips" -- same time, next year-style. Both men get married and start families, but they still hanker for the kind of love, sex and intimacy they were able to find on Brokeback Mountain. Ennis is strong, stubborn, and tight-lipped -- and fearful; Jack, perhaps more open and eager to seek real comfort, still wants more. All of this is told in measured scenes, with eloquently written and pointed, if often brief, exchanges. The scenery is gorgeous and harsh, much like the story.

And it's the power of Brokeback's story that roped in Gyllenhaal and Ledger to the project. "When I read the script, I thought the story was amazing," says Gyllenhaal of his initial take on this epic tale. "I just fell in love with it and realized that I had to do this film." His costar concurs. "The decision to do the film was pretty much made for me by the script," says Ledger in his smoky, Australian-accented voice. "It was the most beautiful screenplay I'd ever read. And after reading Annie Proulx's brilliant short story, I felt like it was definitely going to be intriguing and challenging to tell this story. Particularly, because Ennis has very few words to express his battle and his issues. Ang Lee was attached to direct, and I felt he was perfect to tell this story. I didn't want to walk away from something so perfect; that would have been crazy."

Crazy, indeed. And while Hollywood has gotten decidedly more gay-friendly thematically in recent years, some showbiz types still get squeamish when it comes to playing gay. "I understood that it was a fear for quite a lot of other people in this industry," offers Ledger, regarding whether or not he had doubts about playing a man-loving ranch-hand. "But I never felt like I had anything at stake; there was no risk. The only anxiety I had was that the project was so perfect, I didn't want to be responsible for fucking it up," he says, laughing. "The question of sexuality and these characters' issues with it wasn't what pushed me to do this, or scared me about it," explains Gyllenhaal. "I'm in the business of helping stories get told, and I love this story. People don't say to me, 'When you were in Proof, were you afraid to play a mathematician?' Or, "Was it scary to play a Marine in Jarhead?' Why is that?"

Not surprisingly, both actors are also happy to speak out the importance of this story, and the message it powerfully sends. "There's no doubt that this is a gay love story," says Gyllenhaal. "But I don't think that these two characters even know what gay is. Before we started shooting, Ang Lee and James [Schamus, the film's producer] gave us books about first-hand accounts of guys growing up in the Midwest and their encounters with men and their attraction to men, and what that was, and even they didn't understand what it was, or what they were feeling. So to me, there are a lot of things that this movie is deconstructing that I think are really fascinating."

Ledger agrees, and also sees the film's scope as ultimately universal. "Sure, they're two men in love with each other, but the film's point is that two men in love with each other is just as universal as man and a woman, or two women -- it's the same thing," he stresses. "In many ways, it's much bigger than a story about two gay men. It's a story for everyone. We put our hearts and souls into telling this story, and we're trying to broaden people's opinions and people's interest in coming to see the film -- because it's a story of beauty."

Strengthening their commitment to Brokeback Mountain is the fact that both Gyllenhaal and Ledger have very personal connections to gay people, whose lives they hope to honor with this film. Gyllenhaal grew up with gay godparents -- a male couple who were very close to his family. "I do feel like there is a part of me who did this movie for them," he admits. "Maybe, almost naively, I don't really worry about how other people will respond to this, because I know I've done it for people I love." Similarly, Ledger had an uncle in mind as he slipped on his boots to play Ennis. "My uncle's gay and he went through a hard time coming out to his dad in the '70s. His dad told him, 'You've got to go to a hospital and get fixed, or you've got to leave the family.' So he stood up and walked out and moved to L.A. and never came back. He's always found it hard to accept his sexuality, and maybe as a backlash to this and his father making him feel less masculine, he became more masculine. He's the head of an arm-wrestling federation and loves pit fighting! He's into bodybuilding and is the toughest, most masculine guy I know. That's why it was important to me to create Ennis as the most masculine character that I've ever played, to make that point."

And as it was for both Gyllenhaal and Ledger, the impact of a monumental and yet bracingly intimate story like Brokeback Mountain will be a very personal one for audiences. This is the kind of movie that prompts discussions, and that gay viewers can proudly claim. Best of all, the film has the capacity to reach people in a very important way. "If anything, I think this movie might be able to tell younger people who are struggling with issues of their own sexuality and how they're feeling that it's okay," says Gyllenhaal. "That's what I have the most faith in." And certainly, what's likely to remain with viewers is the central story of Jack and Ennis' quest for love, and the heroic struggle they face. "What I feel is that we're all looking for intimacy, wherever we can find it," Gyllenhaal offers. "And when you find it with someone, you hold on to it as hard as you can. And that's all that matters."

The Wrangler

By Anderson Jones

Ang Lee's nervous.

The acclaimed director's calling from Denver, Colo., where he's unspooling his new film, Brokeback Mountain, which opened the city's film festival last month. In fact, the screening tonight for a sold-out crowd of 2,200 opens the fest. Lee's jittery because this is the first -- how you say? -- "red state" -- public viewing of his profoundly moving love story set in the bleak, wide open spaces of Montana and Wyoming.

The movie, which earned the Venice Film Festival's top prize, has gained some notoriety because the story centers on two ranch hands, played by a remarkable Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, who begin a 20-year affair that defies marriage, children and social mores. Their hardy relationship remains a secret, for the most part, because it's a period piece and two men in love in public would raise more than a few eyebrows in 1963.

It could be argued that not much has changed in some pockets of the country. "The crew thought we were making a comedy," says Lee, laughing himself. "The guys working on the movie didn't understand that two cowboys were gay in the story. They were confused. And no one wanted to be in the background shots."

You can understand why Lee was nervous. But we think a sold-out crowd of 2,200 in Denver is a good sign. Here, he talks to IN about the universal themes of Brokeback, getting people in red states to see it and getting America right on screen:

IN Los Angeles: I'll go insane if I read one more sentence about "the gay cowboy movie." They're not really cowboys and Brokeback Mountain isn't a Western.

Lee: They're really ranch hands. I think cowboys are a mystery and they don't really exist anymore. They're an American myth. But Brokeback Mountain's an authentically American story I've never seen before. It wrenched my guts for some reason.

Why now? When the national conversation is so dominated by conservative fundamentalists and gay marriage remains such a hot button issue...

I think it's a very good time to release Brokeback Mountain. It feels very conservative and like things are going backwards and for that reason it's good timing. It's a bit of fresh air. I do have concerns. I'll deal with that on a day-to-day basis. So far, it's been very positive. The themes in the film are about a universal human condition.

Yes, so, the challenge is to get people in red states into the theater to see that.

I think for some people, it's hard to get in. Once they get in, it's very benign in its overall vibe. It might change things. Just because they're red states doesn't mean they don't care about love. To say small towns don't care about love, that would be unfair. Just like it's unfair to say "People in red states don't want to see a gay cowboy movie." Just as the assumptions they make about us -- in blue states -- are unfair. I'm hoping people will see the movie.

How do outsiders -- like you and Heath -- master the Americana of the great outdoors and horse wrangling?

I don't know. I think if you put your heart into it it's a matter-of-fact thing. It's some great American writing. You get a sense of it and because I'm an outsider, I'm super-sensitive to get it right. To create a movie, you're creating a world, after a few months it's [easy]. That's the first thing you do. You have to do research and hire consultants. We're not in the best position because we're outsiders, but I did everything I could to be Western [culturally] enough. Examining America, I think, is important whether you're American or not because what's happening in America has global implications.

On the set of a love story or even a traditional romantic comedy the leads are often closer by the end of the shoot. Did you notice that Heath or Jake were better friends at the end of the day?

Not that I could tell. And now they went in completely different directions! Heath has a baby and Jake's out here. I didn't care what their personal feelings were. They had to deliver for me. If they're not convicted who's going to believe it? But they're good actors. They made their commitment. They're professionals. It's very brave. But it's good for them. They're good parts.