Critics Praise Brokeback Mountain

There's a lot of award buzz surrounding director Ang Lee's lastest film Brokeback Mountain. The film, which depicts the relationship of two cowboys (played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger) who meet while shepherding in Wyoming, was named Best Picture by the New York Film Critics Circle and by the Los Angeles Critics Association. The National Board of Review also ranked the film as one of the year's best, but said that George Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck was better. All three critics associations thought that Ang Lee deserved the Best Director Award. Heath Ledger was given the Best Actor award by the New York critics while the other two gave it to Capote's Philip Seymour Hoffman. The National Board of Review chose Jake Gyllenhaal as Best Supporting Actor, while N.Y. and L.A. chose William Hurt in A History of Violence.

Brokeback Mountain is playing in selected cities now and will be in a wider release on December 16.