Top Rated Best Western Movie for 25 Years Is Now Streaming on Amazon Prime

Nearly 20 years after its release, Brokeback Mountain remains a landmark in American cinema, earning its place among the most celebrated Westerns of the 21st century.

Directed by Ang Lee and based on Annie Proulx’s 1997 New Yorker short story, the 2005 film follows the complex and tragic love story of two cowboys, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, portrayed by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Set against the cowboy-esque backdrop of Wyoming in the 1960s, the story unfolds across decades, chronicling how the men navigate their forbidden relationship in a world that refuses to accept it.

Critics at the time hailed the film’s quiet intensity. “The lonesome chill that seeps through Brokeback Mountain is as bone deep as the movie’s heartbreaking story,” wrote Stephen Holden in his 2005 New York Times review. “It creeps into the farthest corners of the wide-open spaces… and rises like a stifled cry into the big, empty sky.”

With its restrained performances and expansive cinematography, the film earned critical acclaim — and continues to do so. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Brokeback Mountain holds an 88% approval rating among critics, while audiences rate it at 82%. On Letterboxd, it maintains a strong 4.1 out of 5 stars.

Ledger’s portrayal of the emotionally restrained Ennis was particularly lauded. “He magically and mysteriously disappears into the role,” The New York Times noted. Gyllenhaal’s performance, marked by quiet yearning and deep sorrow, was praised for its vulnerability. “His sad, expectant silver-dollar eyes tell the whole story,” the review continued.

The film also featured Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams as the wives caught in the emotional crossfire. Rick Moody, writing for The Guardian in 2005, called it “a great American love story”—not just a “gay Western.”

Entertainment Weekly recently ranked Brokeback Mountain fifth in its list of best Westerns from 1990 to 2024, citing its emotional depth and deconstruction of cowboy masculinity.

“Though far from a Western in structure, it’s a powerfully emotional look at the model of American masculinity and how that model fails two men completely,” the outlet noted. “Anyone doubting Brokeback’s status as a Western should remember the screenplay was penned by Lonesome Dove author Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana.”