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MILK Gus Van Sant Starring Sean Penn Emile Hirsch Josh Brolin James Franco Diego Luna To quickly draw my own standpoint on this issue under a spotlight, I'm an incredibly tolerant person. Misanthropic, granted, but at the same time I still believe that people have the right to freely practice whatever as long as no one is being forced into something they do not wish for or getting hurt at all; I'm quietly confident I'm not alone in that. To be honest, I tolerate pretty much everybody - minus idiots and arseholes - I just don't like them. Make things clear? No? Erm... ok. Minorities don't piss me off, people piss me off and as such I have no problem with race, creed, colour, gender or sexual orientation. Alright, with that out of the way you should now understand that I am reviewing the film and not the issue it focuses on. Milk opens with stock footage of the 1969 Stonewall riots in which homosexual males were harassed and arrested by police for frequenting a known gay bar. We then cut to 1978 and City Supervisor of San Francisco, Harvey Milk [Penn] sitting in his kitchen, recording a history of his time in politics in the event of a possible assassination. We then leap back eight years to a very tight shot of Harvey flirting with Scott Smith [Franco]. The scene itself is incredibly simplistic and yet almost claustrophobic in its execution. The two faces occupy the entirety of the screen and when they kiss for the first time it’s a little disorientating, as if director Van Sant was openly stating, "This is what this film is about, you're going to see stuff like this. If you can't handle it, leave now." It's an incredibly risqué thing for a director to do and yet it shouldn't be; everything is artistic and tastefully done and if it were a straight relationship people would no doubt complain it was too tame. Brokeback Mountain was battered and ridiculed (as much as it was praised) for being a 'gay cowboy film' and yet you see more female nudity than male - I would even go so far as to say there's more male/female kissing than male interaction. So the very fact that this release would focus so openly and intently on the homosexual aspect is an incredibly bold thing to do. As stated, it's a fucking shame that it is but a seemingly unavoidable one at present. It's my belief that this film is a way of subtly introducing a gay story into a non-gay setting but I will go into greater length on that in episode seven of my podcast. But I digress. The film follows a semi-closeted homosexual as he finds happiness with this Scott Smith character and moves out West, to San Francisco. Despite 'Frisco being labelled as the gay/hippy capital they are still greeted with a lot of hostility. Being the person he is, Harvey Milk rallies the people and soon becomes the voice of the minority. With increasing popularity and success, Harvey decides to shed his shaggy, hippy image and run for office. After years of failure, he finally gets elected as the first 'openly gay' statesman - I think my terminology is correct there. Naturally, once he gets to office, there are various pitfalls, grudges and feats that need to be addressed and overcome but you get the general idea. I have to say that as a film... as a story, even, I wasn't hugely impressed. I'm not saying that it wasn't good or well done but the story was just lacking something. I think my main problem is that like so many message films, the message of the film is force-fed to you so often that you begin to choke on it; as if someone is screaming, "This film is about gays! Gay people! What do you think of that!? We're people too!" And although I don't have a problem with the message itself, its delivery is a little saccharine - all that rising from nothing, overcoming adversity, you know, the whole American dream thing. A fact that was emphasised with the wholly forgettable and very paint-by-numbers score by Danny Elfman. Ok, onto the positive points. First off, the acting was fantastic by all. Similar to Che, this is a biopic and as such the focus is primarily on one character, so the supporting cast don't usually get to do a great deal. The extents of Sean Penn's commitment to the performance are apparent in his mannerisms, his voice, even the fact that he altered his hairline and adorned a prosthetic nose and chin. In addition to the acting we have the stock footage, which makes up at least a third of the film. To immerse the audience in the period, Van Sant has opted to include a whole hoard of televised broadcasts and filmed footage of the people and surrounding area (I don't think I would be unjustified in saying that the film is strung together and connected by these little intermissions) and kept the film out of the digital world by utilising several grainy shots and poorly lit interiors. As I stated earlier, many of my thoughts (and there are many) are expanded upon in my podcast so I will simply summate by saying that this film is one that I feel is going to be lavished with praise for its performances (and duly so) but as the story greatly suffers, it will be swept away a little too quickly. The production, design and attention to detail are all perfectly executed and I have every confidence that Van Sant will be praised and awarded highly for marrying his independent flare with mainstream cinema. Release Date: 23rd January 2009 The Scene To Look Out For: Anita Bryant's God-driven campaign to out gays and drive them from their jobs was addressed multiple times but most importantly, during the actual televised interviews in which she self-righteously preaches about God's law and grouping homosexuals with prostitutes and thieves I noticed something incredibly subtle yet wholly significant - the majority of the audience were smirking and gently tittering to themselves. As if Bryant's backward logic seemed ridiculous and archaic. I know that may sound like an incredibly random point to focus on but it was so important because it brought to light the fact that society has moved on (not a great deal but it has) and thirty years later Harvey Milk's struggle seems to have paid off. Upon leaving the screening I was asked who this film was aimed at. In all honesty, I still don't have a definitive answer for that. If I were to take a guess I would say three initial groups: open-minded cinemagoers, the gay community and anybody who opposes it. Every minority or oppressed group needs their own personal hero flick; this belongs to them and is embodied perfectly in those scenes and that reaction. Notable Characters: Josh Brolin's portrayal of fellow City Supervisor, Dan White was typically brilliant but Emile Hirsch (Sean Penn's little protégé) proved that he has a maturity and talent that was first gleaned in Into The Wild, stifled in Speed Racer but still wholly present; certainly an artist to watch closely. Highlighted Quote: "You know who you sounded like just then? Boss Tweed" In A Few Words: "Each minority group needs their hero piece but despite the stellar performances this one feels like a bit of a let down" Total Score: 
7/10Matthew Stogdon |
