Parents' Guide to

Brokeback Mountain

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Groundbreaking film about forbidden love has sex, violence.

Movie R 2005 134 minutes
Brokeback Mountain Poster Image: Ennis (Heath Ledger) stands in profile, with Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) behind him, against a backdrop of mountains

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 10 parent reviews

c B.
c B. Adult
January 18, 2018
age 13+

full disclosure: i am not a parent

As someone who is kind of between the categories of "kid" and "parent" (I'm 19) I feel like I have a good grasp on the age limit for this movie. My mom has been meaning to have me watch this movie since I was in eighth grade, but I only watched it for the first time 3 days ago. I would've been able to handle it a lot earlier. Like any rated-R movie, there are some things that would've flown over my head when I was 13, but the movie was not overly inappropriate language/sex/violence wise. I also think what the movie would've meant to me (affected me/ impacted me/moved me etc.) at 13 is different than what it means to me now as an adult. I think showing this movie to kids ages 13+ is perfectly fine. Parents should just be willing to answer questions on some heavy topics. (Also: I saw 21 Jump Street when I was 13 and it is wayyyyyy more inappropriate than this movie. It holds a 16+ on this website while Brokeback Mountain holds a 17+. Take a wild guess why that is.)
Olivia S.
Olivia S. Parent
June 1, 2017
age 14+

A lesson

My daughter has a strange obsession with the actor who plays Ennis in the movie. When she came to me with a copy of it she had purchased, I wasn't sure how to react. I told her she couldn't watch it, but being a 13 year, she old did anyway. She came to me crying at the end, but it was okay! She was sad, but this movie taught her an amazing lesson. It's not just a movie about scandalous love, it's got a message. If a teen or preteen comes to you wanting to watch this, they can handle it. There's one sex scene from what I can remember and a few topless shots. The profanity is present, but it's reality. It's based completly on real lives of cow boys. How they spoke and acted. Same as a child learns about history in school, they can learn about how ruthless it truly was back then.
See all 10 parent reviews

What's the Story?

When cowboys Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) meet during a month of sheep ranching on Wyoming's BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, they share lust, passion, and genuine affection -- though, in 1963, they can't imagine defining, much less pursuing, what they feel. Their silence lasts for years: Each goes home, with Ennis marrying his girlfriend, Alma (Michelle Williams), and Jack longing for Ennis before pursuing his own sham marriage to Lureen (Anne Hathaway). But Jack and Ennis agree to meet again and then again, unable to stop. They can't articulate their relationship, telling their families they've gone "fishing." Whether or not Jack and Ennis will ever find peace seems entirely out of their hands.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (10 ):
Kids say (22 ):

This thoughtful, lyrical, eventually frustrating examination of two men's romance spans many years. Though Ennis and Jack never call themselves gay or queer, they do love each other and share a sexual relationship. The film is as much about silence and repression as it is about passion. Ennis' lack of language, initially clench-jawed mumbling, is eventually subtler, especially in his relationship with his daughter, Alma Jr. (at 19, played by Kate Mara). But one thing is crystal clear in Brokeback Mountain: Ennis and Jack are anguished. They act on their pain in different ways, and the big wide Wyoming landscape -- so mighty, so simple, so overwhelming -- reflects their efforts to be together, to stay apart, to resist expectations and to succumb to them.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Brokeback Mountain's legacy in queer cinema. How does it stand up today? Which aspects are positive for gay representation, and which areas feel dated?

  • The film uses mature content such as nudity, frequent cursing, sex scenes, and brutal images of hate crimes to tell its story. Do you think these scenes are necessary? How would the film be impacted if this content was toned down? Would the film be better, worse, or simply different?

  • Which characters demonstrate courage? Why is this an important character strength?

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