‘Brokeback Mountain’, the film with which Michelle Williams got her first nomination

Among the actresses nominated for the Oscars 2023, Michelle Williams stands out on its own merits. Interpret a transcript of the mother of Steven Spielberg in The Fabelmans It has earned her her fifth Oscar nomination, and as one of the most talented faces of her generation, she has plenty of fans who want to see her take the stand.

This year, Williams competes with cate blanchett (Tár), michelle yeoh (All at once everywhere), Ana de Armas (Blonde) and Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie) in the category of Best Leading Actress. Her first nominated role of hers, however, got her up for Best Supporting Actress in 2006. We talked about her acclaimed work in Brokeback Mountain, the movie of ang lee that sowed the scandal almost two decades ago.

Based on a story by the writer Annie Proulx, the film broke taboos by presenting a forbidden love story between two cowboys played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. The fact that both cowboys found themselves at a low point at the beginning of the story and took a job as sheepherders in Wyoming did not stop the press from making headlines.

Williams played a very grateful role in the dramatic, but also very bitter: that of Soul, the wife of Ennis del Mar, Ledger’s character. After marrying him and giving birth to two children, it is she who discovers the secret romance of her husband when she sees him kissing with Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal) during a visit to his home.

The face of the actress, transfixed with pain after witnessing the reunion of the two lovers, It is one of the unforgettable moments of the film. As is the scene in which Alma lets her adulterous husband understand that she knows the truth, arousing in him a reaction that is half violence and half terror for the discovery of his secret.

At the time, Brokeback Mountain earned five Oscar nominations, including Michelle Williams. However, the actress lost to the Rachel Weisz of The loyal gardener.

The film, for its part, took home three awards, including the Best Director statuette for Ang Lee. However, the Oscar for Best Picture went to crash, of Paul Haggis. There have been hints that the Academy decided to award this film to avoid the controversy associated with Brokeback Mountain, that it had earned the hatred of the extreme right in the US and was censored in several countries.

Today, the fact that Ang Lee’s film caused such a scandal seems almost science fiction. (although not as much as it should). As for Michelle Williams, she was nominated again in later years for Blue Valentine, My Week with Marilyn and Manchester by the sea. Will we finally see her holding the Oscar this year thanks to The Fabelmans?