This is the part where I act like an authority on entertainment, and criticize the work of professionals who are, without exception, more successful than I in the industry in which we both work. Some people would say this is proof I have "balls", or "chutzpah" in Jewspeak. Others would say it's proof I'm a "douchebag". To catch up on any old reviews, you can find the link on the right hand side of the page, or just click here.
I grew up in the Bay Area in the 70's and 80's, so I'm well-aware of the legend of San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in American history. He was revered by many in the area, and had an Oscar-winning documentary made about him, so the details of his life are well-known. You might think that would affect my viewing experience of 'Milk', the biopic detailing his life and death, but you'd be wrong. Director Gus Vant Sant and first-time screenwriter Dustin Lance Black choose to spill the beans right off the bat, opening on the aftermath of Milk's murder. He even uses the original footage (famous in the Bay Area) of then Supervisor, now Senator Diane Feinstein announcing that both Milk and Mayor George Moscone had been shot and killed.
Knowing Harvey Milk's fate, Van Sant allows us to get to know him. Using the device of Milk (Sean Penn) recording an audio tape of essentially his memoir just prior to his death, he takes us back in time eight years to find how he got here. In New York City, Milk, then a restless insurance salesman, meets and seduces Scott Smith (James Franco) on his 40th birthday. In bed after sex, he tells Smith he feels he's never done anything he'll be proud of. We know then, changes are on the way, and the film doesn't make us wait around. Moving at a brisk pace, the film follows Smith and Milk to San Francisco, where they build a life. Van Sant and Black are able to cover a lot of ground here by keeping the scenes short, and the story moving forward.
The unquestioned strength of the movie is Penn, who embodies Milk with the same ease he plays characters closer to himself (even if he's a Gay Hater). That is to say, you buy him as gay. No, he's not going the "flamer" route, waving his arms around like a maniac, but he nails a certain affect that comes off as real. And it's not just for show -- there are a couple of kisses between Penn and Franco which are as realistically sexual as any you'll see on screen. Honestly, the chemistry between these characters is better than the typical Hollywood rom-com. A later doomed romance with Jack Lira (Diego Luna) is a little less believable, but the subplots work.
Emile Hirsh is outstanding as always as Cleve Jones, a friend and assistant to Milk, and the man from whom Black learned Milk's story. Josh Brolin rounds out a fantastic ensemble as Milk's nemesis, Supervisor Dan White. White is an Irish ex-cop and fireman whose politics and prejudice has him constantly at odds with Milk. Brolin is excellent in a limited role, as he's been in the entire string of juicy roles he's been in lately ('No Country for Old Men', 'American Gangster').
The film also benefits from a little luck: Much of the second act surrounds Milk's fight against Prop 6, which would've outlawed all gay people from being teachers in California. Because of the similarity to this fall's Prop 8, which outlawed gay marriage in California, the story seems more current while also nailing the look and feel of the San Francisco of the 70's. It was a progressive time and place, a hotbed of change, a place where issues were discussed on a political level for the first time. That's why it doesn't feel tacked on or convenient when Milk embraces a message of hope and change.
Van Sant is in rare form here. It may not be among his very best work, but he's following a much more commercial friendly style than usual, which suits the material. It's more in the vein of 'Good Will Hunting' than the work which first made him famous -- 'Drugstore Cowboys', 'My own Private Idaho'. Black is a former mormon, who was inspired to come out of the closet by Milk's story. As a relative newcomer in show business, Black approached a company in Hollywood who owned the rights to the Milk biography, 'The Mayor of Castro Street', an asked to adapt it. When he was turned down, he wrote his own version without anything from the book. He did research, which lead him to Jones, who gave Black all the information he needed to form his angle.
The film's payoff is expected because of the opening reveal, yet Van Sant manages to make it climactic, but not patronizing. A curious flashback is a somewhat regrettable choice, but it's a small nit to pick. One more: The efficiency employed to catch us up on Milk's story -- aided by the periodic scenettes of Milk recording his memoir on tape -- is useful, but has its drawbacks. While we quickly learn lots of information about Milk's ups and downs in politics, we don't have much time to find out who Harvey Milk the person is. Because of this, his story is not as involving as it might have been.
We see Milk's dysfunctional relationships with boyfriends, and we see his politics, but there's not much else. Maybe that was his life -- for a driven politician, it likely was -- but we didn't have to wait to meet him until he was 40. That was an artistic choice, and one which may have cost us some context. I'm not saying we needed to see a flashback from his childhood or anything as mainstream as that, but I would've liked to see what made him who he was. Or at least what he did when he wasn't crusading or having sex. But then, you only have so much time in a movie.
On the whole, the film captured an era, a movement, and a person -- a remarkable person -- and did it in a convincing and moving fashion. But I think it falls short of Oscar territory. Penn, however, could be looking at another nomination -- if his politics don't get in the way.
Using the age-old Hollywood scale of judgment -- HIGHLY RECOMMEND/RECOMMEND/CONSIDER/PASS (circle one) -- I rate 'Milk':
RECOMMEND
Next up: Either 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' or 'Gran Torino', depending on how I feel.
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