Brokeback Mountain vs. Angels in America

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Evidence that the best "gay movies" are the ones that aren't marketed exclusively to gays. Angels in America isn't really a movie, but a miniseries: the story and the play it's based on wouldn't have fit the confines of a theatrical film, at least not by current, mainstream standards. But with director Mike Nichols at the helm and a cast for the ages (Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Emma Thompson, Mary Louise Parker, Patrick Wilson), it's unquestionably fine filmmaking. Aside from the last ten minutes it's not really stagey -- it works within the confines of the medium -- though it is very talky. Brokeback is the opposite: a movie with minimal dialogue, which trades on its visuals, and the silent communication between its two leads. It's a story of two men battling against homophobia in a rural setting, a small-scale story amid grand surroundings. Less ambitious than Angels, but more successful.