I hope you do go see this soon.  I am a total loss for words to describe how
wonderful this movie is.  The cinematography is stellar, but so is the
storyline and the acting.  Heath Ledger blew me away, definitely an Oscar
worthy performance.  Michelle Williams (played his wife) was also stunningly
good for a former Dawson's Creek star.

What was interesting is that I was distinctly uncomfortable during the first
sex scene because it was very sexual and urgent. What was that reaction about?  I'm not sure if it was just me and my usual discomfort with sex scenes or b/c the scene was rather powerful.

 But a few minutes later it wasn't at all about gay sex; it was about forbidden love and that transcended everything.  It was brilliant in its universality.  I should note that there was not a single gasp in the theatre when two men had sex or kissed. I shouldn't have to note it, but I did.

Here's something interesting.  We saw the movie with a gay male couple, friends of ours.  One liked the movie, one didn't.  They characterized it as a "chick flick" albeit a very well acted one.  Both recognized the social importance of the movie and thought it was well done,
but it wasn't their cup of tea.  Meanwhile, we sobbed through the
last part like we haven't sobbed in a long time.

Chick flick could be derisive, dismissing the movie as a gay Tom Hanks/Meg
Ryan vehicle.  But it probably is more reflective that the movie was a truly
great romance.

Another interesting bit.  We had dinner in the Loews Restaurant (won't do
that again) and our waiter told us Brokeback has been sold out every show
and the crowds are long and very diverse.  He said that Loew's was the
busiest theatre in the nation Friday night and that Brokeback was the only
sold out show.  I arrived 3 hours early to buy tickets and barely got them.
We got in line 45 minutes early and it was still really long.

A final interesting note -- while I saw a lot of gay couples and individuals
there, it appeared that a significant portion of the audience was
heterosexual.  And I saw more children than I expected (adolescents with
parents, not young children).

It was brilliant.