A very good piece by Wayne Beson at PlanetOut on Brokeback Mountain. His thinking is very close to mine, although he's managed it much more concisely.
The main reason that "Brokeback Mountain" will be a crossover hit is because of its universal message. Its success comes down to the ending scene, where Ennis del Mar is alone in his bare-bones trailer overlooking the haunting prairie. He opens a closet and wistfully touches the hanging clothes of Jack Twist, who has been murdered.
It is a gut-wrenching moment not only for the character, but also for moviegoers. They are forced to confront fears of loneliness and to ask themselves if they have lived life to the fullest and expressed their love to the people who matter most.
Gay or straight, the answer to such questions is all too often "no." In essence, we all have our own secret "Brokeback Mountain," and the movie subconsciously asks people to find their purpose and embrace their passion, because life is short and fragile. It is the searing, powerful message more than the fact the messengers are gay that will ultimately help people understand the struggles of gay people, and more importantly, themselves.
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