Who Wants to See That?

If you haven't seen Capote, you're missing out on a good movie and a great performance by Phillip Seymor Hoffman as the eccentric writer researching what will become his famous best-seller, In Cold Blood.

But, when I saw the movie this past weekend, it was proceeded by a preview for Brokeback Mountain, the new Ang Lee film based on Annie Proulx's short story about two cowboys who fall in love. As the preview segues from a story about two young cowboys trying to find jobs to their new, secretive relationship, a man sitting behind me openly mocked the plot. "Who wants to see that?" was said loud enough for everyone around him to hear. Even more ridiculous was when the preview ended and the theater was in total darkness, he proclaims, "Well, that won't last a week."

Who is this moron? First of all, the movie is based on Proulx's story that helped The New Yorker win the National Magazine Award for Fiction. Proulx has also won a Pulizter Prize, so the source material is obviously pretty strong. Second, the film has already been sweeping through the film festivals with massive praise. The hype on this film hasn't quite reached the mainstream yet, so maybe he's not aware of the good will supporting the movie. But he did know, based on the preview, that the movie was directed by Ang Lee, who has given us such diverse quality films as Sense & Sensibility, The Ice Storm and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. While he did slip with the big-screen version of The Incredible Hulk, he's still worthy of our trust to pick quality projects.

Even more importantly, my companion, Eric, pointed out that this guy is making these homophobic remarks at a screening of Capote, a movie about a well-known homosexual. He's so gay he makes Liberace look like Colin Farrell.

Not that being gay is the focus whatsoever of the movie; it's just portrayed as yet another layer to a fascinating, complicated man. But this moron in the theater was surrounded by many gay couples, and you'd think if sexual preference didn't deter him from seeing a film based on Truman Capote, he wouldn't be so upset by Brokeback Mountain, either.

I understand that Chicago is a midwestern city and therefore maybe not quite as progressive as, say, Manhattan (and there are some bigoted jerks in Manhattan, too), but I guess I assumed that most people living in a large urban area are more tolerant and accepting of other people's differences. I know Chicago is very segregated considering how diverse its population is, and I am aware of the occassional asshole who shows his bigotry in public (usually a twenty-something male insecure in his masculinity or middle-aged/older male who's still holding on to outdated generational values).

Still, I couldn't help but be riled by this guy's comments. I could've turned around to say something, but how do you respond to "Well, that won't last a week"? There was only a few seconds before the next preview started, so I couldn't exactly twist around and spew out, "Actually, sir, the movie is getting rave reviews by just about every critic who's seen it, many of whom predict it will win the Best Picture Oscar. And with its pedigreed cast and crew, it will likely appeal beyond a gay audience to anyone who seeks out quality cinema. Instead of merely lasting a week, it will probably be around for months, if not years. So get used to it."

This post is much longer than I expected it to be, and there's still more I could say, but I think the event speaks for itself. Luckily, a few minutes after this genius expressed his ill-informed opinion, the film I paid good money to see began, and for the next two hours I was lost in a story about a writer, who just happens to be gay, who contributed a body of work that has lasted much longer than a week.