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| Rodney Giles Shares His "Brokeback" Obsession |
by Bruce-Michael Gelbert
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Photo by
Joseph R. Saporito |
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Whether it's the 2005 Ang Lee film or the 1997 Annie Proulx story, first published in the New Yorker magazine, "Brokeback Mountain" has exerted undeniable influence on our community, as evidenced by everything from "Brokeback"-themed parties and events, and the popularity of cowboy hats and erotic cowboy calendars, to "Brokeback" conventions and movie memorabilia for hardcore followers. The one individual in Cherry Grove who has embraced "Brokeback Mountain" most wholeheartedly is Rodney Giles, who has channeled his "Brokeback Fever," as he put it, into a one-man theater piece entitled "Brokeback Mountain & Me." Richard LaFrance and his Island Repertory Theatre Company first produced this evening with Rodney and his spin on "Brokeback" at the Tides Playhouse on July 20 and then brought it back for another trio of performances during the weekend of August 10-12. Michael Spina designed the set and the lighting.
In this intimate evening, Rodney first recounts his own experience vis-à-vis "Brokeback Mountain" and follows this with a reading of Proulx's story. Behind him hangs a "Brokeback" banner, which was displayed at the film's New York City and Los Angeles premieres and is autographed by Lee and 15 cast and crewmembers. For Rodney, "Brokeback" revived childhood cowboy fantasies he thought he had outgrown. He called Lee's work, which he has seen 66 times, "one of the greatest love stories ever filmed," containing "the number one movie kiss of all times," and declared, "I felt like I had received an emotional gut punch" on first seeing it. Although he doesn't see his own life depicted in it, he has reacted in "a visceral emotional way" every time he has seen it since and finds that the film demonstrates that "the closet is a horrible place in which to live."
"My apartment in Florida has virtually been turned into a 'Brokeback Mountain' shrine," says Rodney, who has accumulated more than 250 items of "Brokeback" memorabilia. His collection includes scripts, posters, photos, publications, film ads, the movie trailer, and the items he had on the stage here-a "Brokeback Mountain"-style shirt from the Denver store that provided the film's wardrobe and such authentic props from the film as the fishing net that never touched water and fishing creel never opened, two pieces of camping cookware, and Jack Twist's harmonica. Rodney has participated in "Brokeback" Internet forums and in gatherings in Central Park; Michigan; Alberta, where the film was shot; and Colorado and Wyoming, to see the actual Brokenback Mountain and towns, which are mentioned in or inspired locales for the tale. He has learned the film's romantic ballad "The Love that Will Never Grow Old" and sung it in Cherry Grove at the Arts Project's "Brokeback Cherry Grove" ball and at piano bars. He called both film and story "outstanding achievements."
Rodney delivered his reading of Proulx's tale, complete with homespun humor and dialogue, with almost infectious enthusiasm. We revisited with him the initial companionship Jack and Ennis discover at the sheep ranch, telling stories, making music, and appreciating the scenic Wyoming landscape. We relived their first sexual encounter; their exchange "I'm not no queer" (Ennis), "Me neither" (Jack); and their parting when the ranch job came to an end. We saw them marry, have children, and have a first reunion four years later, when Ennis' wife Alma witnessed their passionate kiss. We heard Jack propose that the men get a ranch together, but Ennis resist, recalling a fatal gay-bashing that his father saw to it that he witnessed. We experienced the unraveling of Ennis and Alma's marriage, Alma taunting Ennis about his so-called fishing trips with "Jack Nasty" and, Jack's "tone bitter and accusatory," his confrontation with Ennis about their rushed and infrequent encounters, paired with Ennis' rage at Jack's hint that he has been with other men.
Rodney captivated listeners by reciting from memory the flashback to the men's first summer at Brokeback Mountain and their "dozy embrace," returning to the printed text as Ennis learned of Jack's death, having, in quick succession, an icy telephone conversation with Jack's widow, Lureen, whom he thinks is covering up the circumstances of Jack's death, and no less frigid in-person encounter with Jack's father, who once punished him by urinating all over him and refuses to release Jack's ashes to Ennis to scatter on Brokeback Mountain, as Jack had wished. We felt the warmth forthcoming from Jack's mother, who let Ennis visit Jack's room, where he found hidden their two shirts, one inside the other, which he took to turn into a shrine to Jack, along with a postcard of the mountain, their one safe getaway, concluding the tale of love tragically frustrated, which has left its profound impression on members of our community.
After "Brokeback Mountain & Me," Island Rep turns its attention once more to a run of a staged play, "The Dying Gaul," by Craig Lucas, playing at the Tides on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 7 pm, from August 25 to September 15. Tickets are $25 apiece and, for more information, call 631/597-9439.
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