A Tale of Sweet Milk and Sour Grapes (Milk (DVD))

Member Name: Praskipark

Product:	Milk (DVD)
Date:	04/02/09 (245 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A Very Interesting Biopic of a Man Not Many People Know About

Disadvantages: Cinematography - a little plain and straightforward

Film Only
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Milk is an accurately written tale of Harvey Milk's contribution to the gay movement in California. It wasn't until his middle years that he actually became politically active in his fight for gay rights. Until that time he hadn't felt the need to publicly announce that he was gay. After a long haul he was elected as city supervisor in 1977 and became the first openly gay man to enter into the world of American politics. He spent the rest of his very short career fighting for the freedom and respectability of gay men.

Gus Van Sant and Dustin Lance Black have created a biopic film as a tribute to Harvey Milk, a film to be taken seriously and not just another 128 minutes of whimsical escapism. The movie conveys the very early days of activism when times were dangerous and explosive. This is fortunate timing for the release of the movie as the gay movement is on the streets again, incensed that the government in California still doesn't accept the right for same-sex couples to marry.

In Van Sant's film we track Harvey (Sean Penn) from his arrival in the Castro district of downtown San Fransisco. This district was already a refuge for gays who had created businesses and lived here in peace. Milk, also set up a camera shop in the the district but the tranquility was soon broken by the police who hated the community and were often violent and vituperative.

Harvey Milk sensed the terror in the gay community and took it upon himself to be the outspoken one - the voice of the community. He quickly became organised and condensed the community's anger into activism. The film powerfully documents his political rise to fame showing us the numerous campaigns that failed before finally winning the city supervisor post in 1977 after the repeal of gay rights in California. His band of followers were mainly women. elders, gays and trade unionists.

An interesting and important section of the film concerns the subsequent arguments and fights over California's initiative (known as the Brigg's initiative) to ban gays and lesbians, and any other followers of gay rights, from working in public schools. What makes this interesting is that we see footage of archive film here. Milk, who was a former teacher was victorious in this fight and gained many friends but also enemies.

From the beginning of the film we know that Milk will be in big trouble for his gay activism. The movie begins and ends in tragedy but is in no way glooomy, like Van Sant's other movies (Paranoid Park, Elephant). It is a film that represents life - showing us how one man lived a life of extremes filled with love, action and activism. For all the film's weightiness it is very chirpy and cheerful although their are times of uncertaintity as there would be for any person leading a minority group and fighting an onward and upward struggle.

Complexities of life and fickle twists of fate are all portrayed to perfection by the prodigious Sean Penn. Wearing a false nose, he looks and speaks like Milk, absorbing his character with a jolly flamboyance but also a world fatigue and feeling of concern. You sense that the character he is playing is never at ease in his own skin yet he enfolds it and runs carelessly forward, never looking back. We see Penn portraying a great, dynamic speaker who has a love of megaphones, leading his followers forward with his enthusiastic and hopeful words. He is an electrifying figure to the gay community and movement. I have always had great admiration for Sean Penn from his very early days as an actor and I have even more admiration for him as a director. He is so believable in this role as Harvey Milk. He is so pursuasive. I can see and understand how he became the first gay to be elected and was adored by many but sadly how he also was hated too.

Penn's performance here is top notch but the other members of the cast should not be dismissed. We have three young Hollywood stars who play either lovers or activists. They play their parts well although there is a tendency to over state gay stereotypes. Diego Luna (Jack Lira) is bold and a little over the top but James Franco (Scott Smith) is just the opposite - low key and sympathetic to his character. James Brolin (Dan White) delivers an impressive performance as Harvey's perverse political friend/enemy. With great subtlety, he portrays a pasty faced homophobic Catholic who has some serious mental problems of which we only catch a glimpse. Van Sant and Brolin have restrained from portraying him as some loony, depraved Christian scoundrel.

Final Word
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The acting and storyline of the film is compelling but its fault, in my view, is its conventionality. Usually Van Sant, as a director, is creative and very artistic but the style he uses here is very plain and straightforward which doesn't please me. There are some splashes of brightness and colour as in the visit to see Tosca's Puccini but stylistically, I think it is very uninteresting.

Don't get me wrong, the musical score by Danny Elfman and the cinematography by Harris Savides is of a superior quality - but all a little too predictable and safe.

Having said all of that, the film succeeds in telling a true tale of one brave man's mission to validate his identity and shows us how he gave hope and support to his community in a time of hate and prejudice. I am not sure how popular the film will be or if it will change peoples opinions on hot political issues. Overall, it is a very good film and empathises with the gay struggle and I enjoyed it.

Running Time - 128 minutes

Rating R

Summary: A Film about a man who fought for his identity and the identity of others and won.