Milk

Viewer Rating:Madz has rated Milk rating: 4 Star

Forget about Oscar nominations and pseudo-antagonism between Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke. Had Milk been released at any other time during the year it would be no less remarkable. But the fact of the matter is that Mr Penn is unable to give anything but Oscar-worthy performances and his portrayal of Harvey Milk is nothing short of spectacular. (Yes, I'm a tad biased.) Nevertheless, when it comes to biopics or films inspired by historical events, particularly those stamped with the Hollywood seal, I, for one, would be rather dubious : how factual are they? How much dramatic licence has been injected into them? Perhaps I would be vindicated if Milk's script had ended up in Oliver Stone's Machiavellian hands, but it didn't, instead it was entrusted to Indie filmmaker Gus Van Sant, whose films are best-known for stirring controversies more for their aesthetics than their contents. So leave your scepticism at the door (not your brain though) and witness the last 8 years of Harvey Milk as he struggles, stumbles and rises again to become the first openly gay man to be elected into a major public office in the United States. Unlike his previous films inspired by true events (Elephant and Last Days) which were more arthouse, or arty-farty, than factually accurate, Gus Van Sant endeavoured to make Milk an authentic account of the man's late foray into politics. Hence the use of archival footage interspersed throughout the film, which some might consider a moot point. Why wouldn't he be tempted to manipulate those images and make it a pro-gay film? He's openly gay after all. Because this film isn't only about gay rights and gay activism and as Sean Penn said when he received his Screen Actors Guild award : "it is a story of equal rights for all human beings". (And for those who are still not convinced, do check the internet, you'd be surprised to see how Van Sant was faithful to the reality, even recruiting a few of Milk's former associates to appear as themselves or play a cameo.) Such a compelling premise wouldn't make an enthralling film without a cast that could live up to it. Enough has been said already about Sean Penn and although he camps it up a little, he manages to express Milk's warmth, vision and great energy effortlessly, his interpretation is flawless. The biggest surprise here is James Franco who plays Scott Smith, Milk's lover at the beginning of the movie and who we assume is probably the love of his life. Who would have thought that the pretty face in Spiderman turned stoner in Pineapple Express had even more strings to his bow? Here he gives a brilliant understated performance that shows how versatile an actor he can be. Likewise, special mention for Emile Hirsch as Cleve Jones, one of Milk's comrades, who is the perfect foil to Franco's subtle characterisation, young, wild and extravagant. What's really interesting is that all the characters are depicted with great sincerity, far from the stereotypes one would associate with homosexuality. Thus a great ensemble cast bar one character, that of Dan White, a conservative supervisor who's at loggerheads with Milk. It pains me to say this because White is played by Josh Brolin, usually a reliable actor, but the part isn't fleshed out enough and when the film reaches its climax we're left wondering what his real motive was. Thankfully this is just a fleeting thought, what stays in your mind is the joyous smile on the face of the real Harvey Milk whose photo appears at the end and whose message of hope still resonates today. Milk gets my vote!

Review published on the 02 February 2009 18:00