"Brokeback Mountain" was originally a short story by E. Annie Proulx, which was extremely good but yes, sad. Like, heartbreaking sad. I mean, it's tough to imagine gay cowboys in Wyoming going any kind of positive direction, what with homophobia and all, but add into that that Proulx is a really good writer and yeah.
The funny thing about Ang Lee directing is that I keep seeing posters saying "Director of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," which totally makes me think of fight scenes. Cowboys aren't exactly built for speed, folks, so hopefully Lee will tone it down a little bit. The fight scene is kinda clumsy and brutal, and I can't imagine Lee will make it anything less.
I remember staring at the poster in the theater lobby thinking, "wha...?" for like an hour when I first saw it. Hollywood putting out a gay cowboy film? Refreshingly unexpected or unexpectedly refreshing.