Brokeback Mountain Essay

From Rotten Tomatoes to Roger Ebert, film reviews are informative literary mediums through which critics analyze a film’s overall quality, with the goal of distinguishing whether or not the film is worth watching. A film review has a typical structure: it is comprised of an introduction that provides basic background information about the film, actors, producers, and directors. It is generally followed by a brief plot summary, film analysis (of themes, film technique, acting, etc.), and a conclusion, which contains the recommendation or disapproval of the film.
In Daniel Mendelsohn’s film review, “An Affair to Remember,” of Brokeback Mountain, he ignores this typical structure of a film review. In fact, Mendelsohn’s review actually serves as a hybrid literary piece functioning as both a film review and a social commentary.
In the opening paragraph, Mendelsohn introduces the background film information in the span of one sentence, which other critics typically do in one …show more content…
Although film analysis is commonly in a movie review, the way in which Mendelsohn presents the analysis varies. During his analysis of key scenes, he reminds the readers that there is an appropriate lens and mindset that one must have in order to understand and appreciate the movie for what it is, all in combination with his discreditation of the misinformed film critics. Mendelsohn serves as a defender of the movie, he is fighting for the authenticity of the film; he wants others to understand the film in its genuine form without it being misconstrued by heteronormative standards. Essentially, he skips the quintessential structure of a film review, yet somehow still manages to fuse the plot summary, film elements, and background information within his argument. Effectively, it’s all there but just in a appropriately disordered fashion, with a hint of social