We saw this at a very mainstream place, young couples and groups of girlfriends (straight) looking for a Saturday night film. There was laughter at the m/m sex and the cuddling in the first part of the film, but by the time of Ennis and Jack's reunion there was no more laughter. Now I found the sex scene between Ennis and his wife quite uncomfortable to watch - sex by numbers - and found it interesting that there wasn't any vocalisation from the audience about that.
You know, I don't agree with you that Ennis is particularly fucked up. Some people just are emotionally closed off and don't know what they're feeling. We love them anyway! What I'm trying to get at is, for me, that's not so much a character flaw as a character trait. Some people with that trait are lucky enough to have happy lives, just as some people who are emotionally honest and expressive and loving have bad relationships and very unhappy lives. *shrugs*

I liked the way the relationship with his daughters was expressed as well, very subtly; for instance you're not told anything directly but you see that he's taking only one of them for a visit. And that is, sadly, the way estranged father's relationships with their children tend to dwindle away. And then, as you said, the girl that maintains a relationship with him is the one that's quiet, like him. And he can more or less express affection by punching her gently on the shoulder. I know guys like this. Bless em.