Jack Twist is one of two main characters of Brokeback Mountain, a short story by Annie Proulx that was also adapted into an Oscar-winning 2005 romantic drama of the same name. One of the greatest upsets in Oscar history occurred when the film lost out to Crash (2004) for the Best Picture Award. Jack was played by Jake Gyllenhaal in the film.
Jack is a 1960s rodeo cowboy who takes a summer job as a sheep herder in rural Wyoming when he falls in love with his work partner, Ennis del Mar (played by Heath Ledger).
The two continue with the secret affair for the next twenty years, going for “fishing trips” whenever they can get away and come back to Brokeback Mountain, where they met.
Jack eventually pursues and marries fellow rodeo rider Lurleen (Anne Hathaway), encouraging their sexual coupling. When he is later pushed away by Ennis, Jack also attempts to start another same-sex affair with his wife’s friend’s husband. Jack never uses the word bi, but he is accepting of his sexuality ― but frustrated that, due to societal standards, he cannot build the life he wants with Ennis.
Their tragic love affair was one of the biggest mainstream queer romances in American cinema, ushering in a new wave of queer love stories in multiple medias. Despite this fact, pop culture often likes to gaywash the story, dismissing the fact that Jack actively pursued relationships with people of multiple genders.
You can
find an entry about this film in our Bi Media section.