Heath

I am incredibly upset about the death of Heath Ledger - which is kinda odd because, I mean, Brad Renfro just died a little bit ago and Suzanne Pleshette after that and they both blipped my pop-dar but caused no undue emotional stress. When I saw that Heath Ledger had died I literally had to catch my breath and read the news blurb two or three times to make sure I'd gotten it...he was only 28 years old and his career had really started to pick up in recent years. I mean, I've been a fan since A
Knights Tale which, admittedly, was far from his more introspective role but was still a good time...

Oh, and I also loved the performance he turned in on The Patriot - he was just really great. And, like most gay folks I know, his performance in Brokeback Mountain really struck a major chord with me. The struggles Enis went through in order to deal with how he felt about Jack have happened to most every gay guy and gal I know. There's all those moments of is this right? Am I sick? Can I change it?

For better or for worse now both Heath and Jake are part of gay history - we hold them both very close to our hearts and are proud of them. Proud of the fact that they had such dignity and self-respect, proud of the fact that they had the courage to do a couple of roles that nearly every other "big name" actor probably ran away from, proud of the fact that they were proud to be in the movie. Brokeback Mountain, as cliched as it might sound these days, is still among my top five movies ever seen. It was among the first times that I stopped and watched a scene again and again just to see what all was going on in it. It's just among the most amazing movie watching experiences of my life, to date. So, anyway, not that my little voice matters to much of anyone - not even to myself much these days, but I will miss Heath Ledger and will continue to mourn him in my own quiet little way. The world has lost a great talent and one that will not be replaced any time soon.