The climax of Brokeback Mountain allows every individual to form their own opinions of love.
The movie depicts a complex emotional and sexual relationship between Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal), two young men who met at Brokeback Mountain, and their struggles as a gay couple in a supposedly straight world.
Though the movie is every bit a romcom, its ending is one of those tragedies that leave you hollow for days. It makes you think, then, about love and just how much you should risk yourself in it.
Though it’s clear that the movie’s conclusion is subjective, and that the audience is allowed to make their own headcanons, there’s a deeper meaning to all the things that happen. From Ennis and Jack’s bloody shirts in the closet to the “Jack, I swear—” scene, everything was meant to convey something.
Brokeback Mountain Ending Explained
When Jack blamed Ennis for the fact that they weren’t happily living together, the two got caught in a blame game that broke out into a fight. Ennis later told Jack about the time his father took him to see a man murdered in public for being gay. The memories still terrified him, and the two realized they couldn’t continue their affair the way they had.
Ennis would send Jack a postcard long after this breakup, only for it to be returned with a stamp that says “DECEASED.” Grief-stricken, Ennis called Jack’s wife Lauren (Anne Hathaway) to ask what happened. Lauren, in a practiced monotonous voice, tells him about Jack dying in a tire accident.
The scene would cut to show Jack being beaten to death in public. Many believe that the scene took place in Ennis’s head, where he imagines his worst fear coming to life, but pretty sure what happened took place outside his head.
Jack was murdered by those three men for being gay. Laureen told Ennis that Jack specifically requested for his ashes to be scattered at Brokeback Mountain, and he told her that that’s where the two had first met.
Thought Brokeback Mountain might be around where he grew up. Knowing Jack, it might be some pretend place where bluebirds sing and there’s a whiskey spring.
Laureen to Ennis during their call
When Ennis told her the truth, the two sat in uncomfortable silence. Laureen realized that Ennis was the one Jack had had an affair with all these years, while Ennis struggled with the fact that his lover was dead.
In the final part of the movie, Ennis tries to get Jack’s ashes from his parents, preparing to scatter them on Brokeback Mountain. But Jack’s father is vulgar, and we learn that the old sack of meat is homophobic. His mother, however, takes Ennis to Jack’s room to allow him to grieve.
It is here that Ennis finds his old shirt (from their last fight) tucked inside Jack’s own blood-soaked one.
What Do The Shirts Mean In Brokeback Mountain?
Jack put Ennis’s shirt inside his own and tucked it away in the closet. The shirts were entwined together forever, unlike Ennis and Jack — who never had that chance. After being denied Jack’s ashes, those shirts were Ennis’s only link to him.
This was a bittersweet moment, and it was here that the gravity of Jack’s death hit me. I took it like a champ and sobbed into my pillow.
Looking at the shirts, Ennis realized that if he hadn’t let fear guide him, he might’ve had the chance to live with Jack. But it’s too late by this point; he pushed Jack away his entire life, and how that he realized how bad he wanted to be with him, Jack was dead.
What Does “Jack, I swear…” Mean?
Ennis hangs his and Jack’s shirt on a wire and looks at them through eyes brimming with tears. Then, in a broken voice, he whispers, “Jack, I swear—” but the movie rolls to credits before he can finish.
Being cut off from such a significant moment left me disoriented and struggling to accept that the movie could end just like that, but maybe that was the goal all along: to make us feel the way Ennis felt when he learned of Jack’s death.
As much as I hated that at the moment, I can’t help but admire these details of creative choices. Another great thing is that the movie leaves the phrase “Jack, I swear…” open to interpretation. The only thing for sure is that Ennis was trying to deal with the regrets of his life. The rest is up to the audience as they’re allowed to develop their idea of what Ennis really said.
Maybe you think he said, “Jack, I swear I’ve loved you like the sun loves Brokeback Mountain,” or that he’s promising to live life the way Jack had always urged him to: with fearless love. Both of them are valid, both of them true.
That, I think, is the beauty of Brokeback Mountain.
Was Brokeback Mountain A True Story?
Brokeback Mountain is not based on a true story. Instead, the movie is adapted from a short story of the same name, written by Annie Proulx and published in 1997. Annie said that she got the inspiration for the book from watching “men in bars who only looked at other men,” which led her to wonder how the lives of typical ranch hands who might be gay.
About Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain is 2005 a Neo-Western romantic drama film based on the 1997 short story of the same name. The film is directed by Ang Lee, and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus, and stars hollywood dream cast Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams.
When cowboys Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal), meet during a summer job at Brokeback Mountain, they develop a passionate sexual and emotional relationship. Though the two are very much in love with each other, things get complicated when the they get married to their respective girlfriends.
No Comments on Brokeback Mountain: Details Of The Ending Explained!