Wayne, I agree that this is a piece of great acting. What a great admission by Ennis in this scene – he tells a stranger that Jack wanted his ashes scattered on BBM BECAUSE he and Jack spent a summer there in 63. He even corrects her with ‘no, maam.’ He’s essentially telling her he wants his ashes scattered there because he and Jack were in love. And, I love that moment that Lureen puts two and two together and whimpers, and how she realizes he was in love long before Jack even met her. I think you have to assume Lureen knows Jack is gay before the phone conversation because she puts two and two together in that moment. If she didn’t know he was gay, she wouldn’t have reacted the way she did.
So, that long pause after ‘Jack’s wishes bein’ carried out…..” That long pause is not an accident – it’s there for a reason. It’s a very long pause, and it looks like she’s reflecting on something before she shakes herself out of it to say, “about the ashes I mean.” I’d love to know what you think of this, Wayne. Here’s my theory: I think it must mean that Jack told her either just before he died or sometime before (or she has found out another way, perhaps by a note left by Jack) that he had this other wish. The only thing I can make sense of right now is that Jack’s wish was to make a life at his parents’ place with another man (although Jack probably didn’t explicitly say it was his fishing/hunting buddy from Wyoming). Before his death, Jack had already told Lureen he wanted a divorce.
But, just reading the dialogue again, when she says, “Go up to his parents. I’m sure they’d appreciate Jack’s wishes bein’ carried out…” That sounds like his parents (or his mother) knew of Jack’s wish. Was the wish then for Ennis to go back there to find the shirts?. Jack would have wanted Ennis to find those shirts and know just how much he loved him, to bequeath to Ennis this ultimate representation of their love for one another. This would fit with Jack's mother offering Ennis the opportunity to go up to Jack's room (and find the shirts).
Some have thought maybe Jack committed suicide, and if he did, he may have left a note. But, I just don’t think Jack would have done this – the story doesn’t seem to lead in that direction. Jack may have been despairing, but just MHO I can’t see him leaving Ennis in this way.
Wayne, how have you worked this out?
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