Brokeback Mountain - The Film

So, like I said before, I hadn't seen "Brokeback Mountain" prior to viewing it in class and honestly, I don't think that I was prepared for how graphic the film ended up being.
I literally felt uncomfortable watching some of the scenes, and I'm not sure if that was the goal of the director. By no means am I saying I hated the movie, and what it stood for, but I think it's just hard for me to get past the fact that it was two straight actors playing gay men. I'm trying to look at it like any other tragic love story, but it's hard to do that when the love story is about something so taboo.
This film was so well respected; it broke down barriers, and gave a huge voice to the gay community in Hollywood. I'm glad I did finally get the chance to watch it because it's one of those "must-see" films and I don't know if I ever would have otherwise. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal did such an unbelievable job with their portals of Ennis and Jack, and I think by reading the short story first I appreciated their acting even more, because I had a picture of each character in my mind and both Heath and Jake did a better job than I ever expected.
I think too, the director Ang Lee did a great job staying true to the story. He literally put the words to life. I remember watching parts of it and then thinking back to the story and what I had read, and wondering how someone could take a story and put on film so well. I guess finally know why it received so many Academy Award nominations.