Milk2008; USA; 128 min.
Director: Gus Van Sant
Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black
Music: various artists
Cast:
Harvey Milk - Sean Penn
Cleve Jones - Emile Hirsch
Dan White - Josh Brolin
Jack Lira - Diego Luna
Scott Smith - James Franco
Anne Kronenberg - Allison Pill
Mayor George Moscone - Victor Garber
State Senator John Briggs - Dennis O'Hare
Dick Pabich - Joseph Cross
Rick Stokes - Stephen Spinella
Danny Nicoletta - Lucas Grabeel
Jim Rivaldo - Brandon Boyce
At the beginning of my Art of Film course, we were asked to fill out questionnaires about our film tastes. On that survey, one of the questions was asking about our favorite directors. I had absolutely no clue what to write - I probably didn't write anything. I didn't have one person in mind. I had favorite films, but I wasn't interested in what went on behind the scenes. I learned, however, that the director, whether an auteur or not, truly makes the film. When I saw that Gus Van Sant had a new film out, I had to see it. I absolutely loved both "Elephant" and "Good Will Hunting," which were two films he directed that we viewed in class.
"Milk" is the true story of the first openly gay politician from San Francisco, Harvey Milk (Sean Penn). The film documents his journey to gaining political power from the very beginning. (SPOILER ALERT) The viewer is first told that Milk gets assassinated by fellow politician, Dan White (Josh Brolin), and throughout the film Milk is intermittently leaving an audio recording telling his own story. Milk teams up with Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch), Anne Kronenberg (Allison Pill), and others in his shop, Castro Camera, to plan his political career. "Milk" also tracks the sweet, heartwarming, and genuine romantic encounters of Harvey Milk with both Jack Lira (Diego Luna) and Scott Smith (James Franco).
Homosexuality in film is a very touchy subject. I'm sure many people will reject "Milk" for this aspect alone. I was wondering how "Milk" would be received in more conservative areas of the country, and other parts of the world. I thought that both the acting and the script allowed for an appropriate portrayal of just pure love. I think that regardless of orientation, the audience was able to appreciate the fact that the couple just really loved each other. I liked the fact that the characters weren't stereotypically flamboyant homosexuals, which sometimes happens with gay characters. I was wondering while watching the film if there was a bias portrayed. After seeing "Jesus Camp," it's been hard for me to see a film and not think about bias. I came to the conclusion that there really is no bias or perspective on homosexuality in the film. I really don't think the film offends heterosexuals or homosexuals. Ultimately, if you judge the film and refuse to see it based on the plot alone, you'll miss out on beautiful cinematography and a hit from Gus Van Sant.
Gus Van Sant is simply amazing. I absolutely love the cinematography in his films, and "Milk" was no exception. The shots in "Milk" were outstanding. There's one particular scene that I was watching in the theater in awe. The homosexual community of Castro in San Francisco has this signal, that when any riot breaks out, they'll blow whistles to signal each other. When one riot breaks out, the camera zooms in on a close-up shot of a shiny silver whistle on the ground. In the round part of the whistle, you watch a reflection of what is happening on the street - the police are questioning a homosexual man. I think that this shot is just so innovative and definitely attests to Van Sant's greatness. Van Sant builds suspense in the film when Milk is about to give one of his public speeches. Milk receives a post card that informs him the he will be shot the minute that he gets up on the podium to deliver his speech. Van Sant creates this moment with his audience in shock. I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for something to happen when, ultimately, Milk delivers his speech unscathed. When Mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber) is assassinated, you can barely see the gun in the corner of the screen. If you blink once, you'd probably miss it. After that shooting, we follow the assassin to his next victim in a replica shot of the way that "Elephant" tracks people from behind. I almost died when I saw it - it was so signature Van Sant. How about them apples? Anyhow, another part of the cinematography that I loved was the incorporation of real videos and old news reports into the film. The real footage laced into the plot reminded you that this story was, in fact, true. I loved how in some scenes, such as one of the last ones of a memorial march, you're watching the scene in the moment in the film and Van Sant slowly fades into the old footage. However, the old footage is reproduced so brilliantly that you hardly realized that you're watching old videos. One thing that I did notice in "Milk" was a little slip up. At one point in the top center of the screen, you could see one of those microphones that hang overhead. I didn't mind though - I guess I just find it amusing that no one noticed it prior to releasing the film. As I was watching this movie, I decided something about Van Sant. All of Van Sant's films are truly meant to expose. I have felt that this is true in "Milk," "Elephant," and "Good Will Hunting." Overall, I just have so much respect for Van Sant as a master of his trade.
The casting in this film was definitely a contributor to its success. Every actor played their part fabulously and realistically. At the end of the film, the audience is shown pictures of each of the people in the film and their real life counterpart. The ironic thing is that the actors and the people looked almost identical most of the time. The physical resemblance was not the only reason for the success of the casting. I think that the character development was executed beautifully in the film. I felt connected to the characters, especially Milk, at the end. This connection that is built between the characters and the audience makes the symbolic ending all the more powerful and tragic - I was almost trembling in my seat and my friend had tears streaming down her face. By the end of the film, I was so interested in the whole topic. I had never heard of the issues that went on in San Francisco before. The film made me want to go research the topic and read as much as I could about it (I'm in the process of researching...). I think that "Milk" is such a success as a film because of this. "Milk" brought me into a whole world that I hadn't been exposed to before. "Milk" is demonstrative of the power of a good film to influence and persuade.
Throughout the film, there were many profound Harvey Milk quotes that I found to be quite inspiring and amazing. I've decided to list some of them below:
- Without hope, life's not worth living.
- All men are created equal. No matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words.
- You're going to meet the most extraordinary men, the sexiest, brightest, funniest men, and you're going to fall in love with so many of them, and you won't know until the end of your life who your greatest friends were or your greatest love was.
- Burst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight.
Much talk has been circulating this film. I saw an interesting point that was brought up about "Milk" and California's Prop 8. I wonder if this film was released earlier if it would have influenced the result of Prop 8. Also, "Milk" is said to be in contention for an Oscar this year. Critics have also said that "Milk" might be the best film of the year. I hope that "Milk" wins the awards that it deserves.
I could really go on and on about this film. I could post scenes and do mise-en-scene analyses. I'm truly so enthusiastic about this film. I think that's it's politically an important film to see. It's vital, in my opinion, to educate yourself about others' lifestyles and about history. In no way is this film limited to a homosexual audience. As a straight person, I was able to thoroughly appreciate the film. I would highly recommend "Milk" to anyone - it's an amazing documentary that should be seen!
iRate: 5/5 posters
Trailer: Click here to watch the trailer & begin experiencing one of the greatest films I've ever seen!
