Genre: Drama, Biopic
Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, James Franco
Running Time: 128 minutes (plus trailers)
As a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to public office in California. During his career, he worked to improve the rights of homosexuals in both San Francisco and the rest of America, and became a national symbol of gay equality. Gus Van Sants film about Milks life and political career is one of the best of the year, and Sean Penn gives a magnificent performance as the eponymous character. The picture opens with Milk recording his will on tape, which is to be played should he ever be assassinated. We travel back to 1970 in New York, where, on his fortieth birthday Milk, an insurance salesman at the time, meets Scott Smith (played by James Franco.) The two quickly fall in love and travel to the predominately gay neighbourhood known as The Castro in San Francisco in the hope of finding acceptance. However, after becoming frustrated with the poor treatment of homosexuels, which included police brutality, Milk decides to run for public office.
The film is truly fantastic. I am not a huge fan of Gus Van Sant; I think Good Will Hunting is criminally overrated, but he does a fantastic job here, so much so that he may present a legitimate threat to Danny Boyle (director of Slumdog Millionaire) come Oscar night. The production design and costumes are great, and the use of flashbacks and news reel footage helps makes the film feel genuine. Harvey Milk, played flawlessly by Penn is a fascinating subject for a film, and the story is well crafted, with just the right amount of time spent on each story point so that nothing feels long or drawn out, nor does it feel rushed. The supporting cast is excellent; James Franco as Milk’s lover, Emile Hirsch as his protégé and Josh Brolin (who these days can seemingly do no wrong) as his political rival Dan White. And Penn offers a performance that challenges and I think possibly even betters Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. Some of the dialogue is perhaps a little too ‘inspirational’ to believe, but then again the issues that the film explores are certainly ones that inspire passion (on both sides.)
Milk, in case you have been living under a rock and were unaware, has received an enormous amount of praise from critics. Some might snarkily suggest that the reason for this is because of the subject matter (so called ‘Brokeback syndrome.’) But this is not the case. The movie, while it is very blatantly about homosexuality and gay rights doesn’t talk down to people. I don’t know what Harvey Milk was like in real life, and Penn does portray him as being slightly flamboyant, but never to the point that we stop taking him seriously. Any film in which the main villains are fundamentalist Christians instantly gets my seal of approval (my favourite film of 2007 was The Mist) but the film doesn’t slip into making unfair generalisations about religious intolerance either. In this day and age, homosexuality is more and more socially accepted (on the other hand Proposition 8 was just passed in California). Hopefully, this movie may have an affect on anyone who still suffers from any hang-ups.
I think that of all the films I have reviewed this award season, I would place Milk second between Slumdog Millionaire (1st) and Doubt (3rd). The performances from the A-list cast are wonderful without exception, the cinematography is beautiful and the direction assured, and while it may be a little…issue-y, it does make you think, and will leave you wanting to know more about this man, his life, and his incredible achievements.
