His best performance is still Jack Twist. In a sense, it's a shame that he got overshadowed so badly by Ledger, since Gyllenhaal is fantastic in it, but Ledger completely deserved the attention and awards he got, since it's a truly astonishing performance (and is better than Jake).
Main theme of movie is repression though. Or internalized homophobia. Ledger's character embodies this self-repression the most. It makes sense Gyllenhaal is a supporting role, who tries to draw Ledger out to a shared life together to no avail.
Lead and support complement each other, especially in Brokeback Mountain. They are not direct competitions necessarily. Not even when they're both men, who are otherwise typically pitted against each other.
A comparison might be to an alt universe-Romeo and Juliet (as likening them to a mixed-race couple dating in the time of miscegenation laws, still holds a difference in power dynamics due to the complex institution of slavery...)
But anyway, Lou Bloom is totally satirical character played very straight-faced. It's not even in the same universe of humanistic character and story (i.e. Ledger's joker and Ennis aren't lumped together but considered different parts of his range.)
SOUTHPAW | 07.24.15 | The Weinstein Company | final domestic gross: $52,421,953
in Box Office Discussion
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Hi just stopping by.
Main theme of movie is repression though. Or internalized homophobia. Ledger's character embodies this self-repression the most. It makes sense Gyllenhaal is a supporting role, who tries to draw Ledger out to a shared life together to no avail.
Lead and support complement each other, especially in Brokeback Mountain. They are not direct competitions necessarily. Not even when they're both men, who are otherwise typically pitted against each other.
A comparison might be to an alt universe-Romeo and Juliet (as likening them to a mixed-race couple dating in the time of miscegenation laws, still holds a difference in power dynamics due to the complex institution of slavery...)
But anyway, Lou Bloom is totally satirical character played very straight-faced. It's not even in the same universe of humanistic character and story (i.e. Ledger's joker and Ennis aren't lumped together but considered different parts of his range.)