Milk

Milk

Milk is the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in San Francisco who was killed by Dan White (also an elected official). Milk is a nice guy and that makes him easy to like. People around him are happy and want him to do good and the audience gets right in step with them. That is the main factor of this film because Sean Penn plays Milk and Sean Penn is not known for being likable, or happy. Sean Penn is known for playing miserable people that do bad things and have bad things done to them. The man's face is a permanent scowl, for god's sake. So it is surprising, entertaining, and impressive to see Penn embodying Harvey Milk as he does. He won the Academy Award for this and I can see why (though I don't agree with it).

But this film has more going for it than performances. It has some ideas about hope and acceptance and who doesn't like that? The acceptance concerns gay rights and that is something that people to this day have a problem with. I didn't really need convincing from this film. If gay people want to get married or work in the same place I work, then they should be able to as far as I'm concerned. I was just hoping that this movie didn't turn out to be a two hour long gay pride parade with flamboyant gay people in risque costumes making out and rubbing each other. If that sounds anti-gay, so be it, but being heterosexual doesn't involve putting on displays of it, so why is sexuality and showmanship always part of gay pride stuff? Can't people be gay and wear suits and still get their point across? Yes, they can and this movie shows that. Though there is a bit of the flamboyance and whatnot, but it's not over the top or even unnecessary. This film walks a fine line and it keeps itself from being comical or too serious, also. It is entertaining and hopeful and that is thanks to Gus Van Sant.

Van Sant not only kept the movie balanced, but he also threw in some style here and there with some split screen work and some interesting angles. Is there some kind of film school message to be found with the scenes between Milk and White (in which they are shown from the shoulders up, but only take up half the screen)? I'm sure there is but I don't want to dissect it. I just noticed that it looked different and frankly, different is almost always better these days. So check out Milk for a great performance from Penn, two impressive performances from Hirsch and Franco, a balancing act from Van Sant, and ignore the annoying Diego Luna (you'll understand when you see it).

Eric Harris - www.canneltoncritic.com

Last updated: 2010-05-11 00:49:09 by user06

Milk

Milk - DVD
I also watched Milk again and while I disagree with the Academy on giving Penn the Oscar over Rourke, I still think this is one of Penn's best performances. And I mentioned something about the weird shots of Milk and Dan White talking (where they are in the bottom half of the screen and a large amount of the screen is taken up by the ceiling and walls) and I realized what was going on this time. When they first talk, they are small on the screen, the next time they are medium, and when it's getting close to the assassination their heads fill the screen. This visual clue to the conflict brewing between them was really cool, I thought. Also, the DVD has a few deleted scenes and some featurettes, but just watch the old documentary if you want a good story about the real people from the movie.

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Eric Harris - www.canneltoncritic.com

Milk Review

Right off the bat, I knew that Sean Penn’s performance would be excellent. The first few minutes of the film after the credits show so much promise for the rest of the movie that it is hard not to like from that point on. Even the pre-credits footage of raids on gay bars and a woman announcing Harvey Milk and San Francisco mayor Moscone’s assassinations do not hinder the excitement. Milk begins with Harvey Milk’s first encounter with Smith, who becomes his boyfriend. The two move to San Francisco into what will eventually become the highly gay neighborhood known as the Castro. Milk and Smith start the Castro Camera despite discrimination from other shop owners.  Milk runs for office in 1973 and loses, but persists for two more elections in an attempt to obtain gay civil rights and a spot on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. While you know from the start that Milk will be killed, the movie does a great job of not letting you know which of the possible characters will murder him.

Hands down, Sean Penn is the star of the show. His acting is so precise; it is obvious that poring over the character and much rehearsal has been done.  Whenever he talks, his arms seem to not know what to do, and his outgoing and light personality fit the gay stereotype all too well. His body language and smiley demeanor create a character that people tend to joke about, but there is know way this performance can be a laughing matter. Milk’s charisma made a gaping hole by the time he was assassinated, and left me in a state of shock. The acting is hard not to like, since almost all of the main characters are recognizable faces and already have steady careers under their belts. Emile Hirsch, James Franco, and Josh Brolin all have unique and critical roles in that film.  Brolin does his conservative Catholic with so much anger and hidden hate that it is almost hard to enjoy his acting.

The content of the movie does become uncomfortable at times to watch. I found the love scenes Milk to have some hidden beauty in them. An emotional score accompanies most of the movie and always peaks during these scenes, thus creating all the more joy out of an otherwise made fun of concept. The somewhat shaky close ups deliver something close to a combination of eeriness and romance that cannot be ignored. Sure the scenes were awkward for me to watch, but I kept saying to myself and feeling “This is art!” Gus Van Stant’s direction in these scenes and throughout the rest of the movie is good as far as I can tell (I am not  knowledgeable enough to fully describe what I feel or even to feel all of what I should, but I sense some good things). The whole air of the movie made me leave the theater in that great “I want to change the world!” feeling, which I thought was temporary. I found myself wanting to talk about Milk frequently, because it had such a profound affect on me. Five days later I remember enough details to be writing a review, which I find pretty good. The whole film shines and will undoubtedly be celebrating Oscar nominations in a few weeks. I can see Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Picture, Best  Director, and Best Original Score being on ads in papers next month.

Milk is consistently entertaining and honestly beautiful. I find it hard to name very many movies that bring about such an arty and hopeful feeling (although I am only 15). The movie seems to be in the same ballpark as Forrest Gump. The charm, acting, and humor seem similar but the amount of dollar success will not. In that regard, I encourage you to see the movie by paying for it in some way. $8 is worth the price, even in times like these. This is one of the best movies of the year, without a doubt. The sheer pleasure of watching for the sake of art is all one needs as an excuse to see Milk. Please, please see this movie.  Diamonds are very hard to find in haystacks.

5/5

Last updated: 2010-04-10 15:40:12 by user01

Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008)

***
USA

It's difficult to criticise this hagiography of the patron saint of gay rights in times when said rights are taking a fresh trashing. But Harvey Milk's legacy has nothing to do with an ensemble of earnest, nobly-intentioned actors purging hefty chunks of exposition to try reduce an unwieldy man's life into a two-hour running time.

That said, for as long as you're watching Sean Penn, it's as though you're watching a much better movie. Beyond the fact that he sells the exposition and manages a phenomenal bit of mimicry, and beyond the fact that nothing about his posture and cadences and goofy grinning is remotely recognisable from previous Sean Penn joints, it's always gratifying to follow a generous, wonderfully tactile and vibrant character thriving over the my-personality-is-defined-by-a-neat-chronology-of-unceasing-dignity creed of the biopic.

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Milk (2008)

Or the movie where Sean Penn learned to smile and couldn’t stop from doing it. The movie is brilliant, as relevant today as the historical events it depicts were, back in the late 70s.  I could go on praising it, but it all comes down to this: any movie that begins somberly with his main character speaking of his impending assassination, (grabbing you emotionally) and then gets to that assassination scene, and still manages to shock you, even though you knew it was coming, deserves all the praises it gets, ’cause that’s just superb filmmaking.

Milk

I've always disliked bio-pics, and I think I've figured out why.

The greatest pleasure in drama is the shock you feel when expectation and reality diverge in a way that's completely unexpected, and yet inevitable.

But when you experience someone's life story from the very beginning, there's no real chance that character will ever say or do anything to surprise you. In bio-pics, there's never the unexpected, only the inevitable.

"Milk" is not your standard bio-pic.

It opens on the night of the main character's fortieth birthday. Our first impression of Sean Penn's Harvey Milk is a stereotype: a hedonistic gay man interested only in the frivolous aspects of life. That impression will change. Several times.

It seems almost impossible to resist turning your bio-pic subject into a saint, but screenwriter Dustin Lance Black -- an offensively young writer who's worked on HBO's "Big Love" -- pulls it off. Ultimately I think Penn's Milk cares more about himself, and his burgeoning political career, than anything else, including gay rights. That does not make him a bad person, nor does it make him an unsympathetic character. It makes him real -- and it makes his brief political career a story worth following.

A movie about a political activist could easily have been boring, so kudos to Black and director Van Sant for keeping the pace in constant motion. Especially early on, there are lots of short, fast-moving scenes that would be roadblocks in lesser hands.

This is my 2008 winner for best movie that should have been terrible.

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Super Marcey's Milk Review

Rating: 5/5

I have actually had quite a hard time writing this review, not because I didn’t like it. I loved this film, very much. But I have found it quite difficult to get my feelings out, and I thought I would wait for a second viewing to do so. Last night I watched Milk for the second time, and I finally feel like I can get this all out.

I am sure you all know what this film is about, it won two Oscars. It is about a man named Harvey Milk who was the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. The film tells the story of his life after he moves to San Francisco and leads up to his death. I find it rather surprising a film hasn’t already been made about Harvey Milk (Documentary, yes), the story is interesting and it contains some very important themes. But this film has been made at the right time, so I guess it is almost a good thing.

Watching this film, I had to wonder, how far have we really come since the 70’s in relation to the subject matter? In some ways it feels like a lot and in others not so much. And why? Is it fear? Probably, fear of change, fear of moving forward, fear of the unknown. Harvey seemed like a very passionate man, he wanted to bring about change. Change for the better, and he fought for it until the very end. You see a person like that, and he really had the guts to go and do what he was passionate about. He was very aware of the risks, and he still went out and did something, to make a difference. That is something I really admire. This film really does show what he went through, the tough times he faced, the backlash of what he was trying to do. It is a very passionate script, and the film works and survives because of that. This script won an Oscar and I can really see why.

The direction by Gus Van Sant is quite fantastic, he got top performances from his actors. The visuals are stunning, there are some scenes which really work well, spliced with actual footage. Gus is an interesting film maker, and he has made very different types of films through out his career touching on all sorts of subjects. He tackled this project, and the end results is truly excellent. It is an important film, even more important today, around thirty years after Harveys death.

The performances are simply amazing, Sean Penn is the only choice for this role. As he has shown in the past he is a strong actor, and with this role Sean Penn disappears and Harvey Milk appears. He embodied the character, and he did not let up. He even resembles Harvey phyiscally, he went all out here, and its no wonder he won an Oscar. Josh Brolin who has been on quite a roll lately, was just excellent as Dan White. He looks so much like the real Dan White, and brought everything in for this role. Not an easy role to play but Josh did it. The other players like James Franco and Emilie Hirsch are also simply amazing, they have great chemistry with Sean, and everything meshed quite well. Emilie was way too adorable I have to add. Diego Luna was on and off for me, he had chemistry with Sean, that wasn’t a problem. Something was just slightly off at times, but he was more on then off. His role also wasn’t an easy one and I do think Diego struggled at times.

I would say this is a must see film, it isn’t at all what some people might think. It is an important film, beautifully crafted.

(Review written June 23rd 2009, first posted on SuperMarcey.com)

Recommendations: Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009), Milk, Hurt Locker, The (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)

Last updated: 2010-02-14 20:26:33 by SuperMarcey

Milk

I loved this movie better the second time I saw it for the first time I was learning a lot about Havey Milk. After I first saw "Milk" I looked back at an outstanding documentary "The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" from 1984. When I looked back at "Milk" I saw that director Gus Van Sant had recreated that time and place perfectly and that Sean Penn was brilliant and felt like he was the real Harvey Milk. Sean Penn is one of my favorite actors and he amazes me in everything he does and this is a much different role for him but he is Harvey Milk. I realized watching this that we were dealing with a man as important as Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. This movie is a major labor of love and it is a heartbreaking, touching, funny and powerful drama. Along with Penn, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, James Franco and Allison Pill give great performances. Van Sant has made his best film and it is a stirring and intimate epic of tolerance, change and love.

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Vincent Snavely

Milk

A daring role for Sean Penn in Milk elevates this film, with a heartfelt portrayal of the gay movement in the late '70s to gain gay rights in California. The film doesn't shy away from images that might make the viewer feel uncomfortable, showcasing just how much America's views on gay rights have changed from the bigotry of Harvey Milk's time. It's a brave showing; there is still a lack of acceptance of these scenarios, and it's refreshing to see a film that's feels no shame in the subject matter. It's heartwarming to see Milk as a man dedicated to the rights that all gay people deserve, but it's not without the sadness and despair that pushed Milk to fight so hard.

It's a touching film with great pacing, and it becomes hard to watch with the unacceptable bigotry that went on in the 1970s; this is, though, not to mention the fact that Josh Brolin gives an excellent performance as Dan White, which is easy to overlook because of the fact that he is just so easy to hate in the film. Milk may be engineered to stand as a dramatic film, but the details within are essential knowledge in a time where acceptance of other classes, races, and gender roles is still not high enough.

MILK (2008)

BOTTOM LINE: A moving, realistic, and fitting tribute to the late Harvey Milk, an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California’s first openly gay official, with a very humanistic and pitch perfect performance by Sean Penn in the lead role.

THE GOOD: The story of Harvey Milk’s rise to prominence in the 1970s as a champion for gay rights is a very moving one indeed, as told here with the utmost care by director Gus Van Sant. The central character upon which this film is based was a larger-than-life, positive and uplifting individual who debated fairly and ethically against those opposed to gay rights, and as portrayed here by Sean Penn, he is a deeply sympathetic character than you cannot help but like. Penn’s performance sets the tone for the whole movie as his very human, yet pitch-perfect performance is a sight to behold and is worthy of an Oscar win. Through him, we learn and understand the plight of gay people as it stood back in the 70s and the ultra-religious fervour that attempted to crush its existence. Gus Van Sant likewise deserves much credit for creating characters and a world that are completely believable, three-dimensional and likeable, even Josh Brolin’s Dan White who can never come to terms with Milk’s success at the expense of his own as a State Supervisor. Milk’s supporters are also given a lot of room to develop and grow as characters, particularly Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch) and Scott Smith (James Franco). Gus Van Sant uses a very documentary-like style in staging all the sequences, and at times, you feel as if you are watching the real thing. The Hollywood-esque filming techniques blend in seamlessly with archival footage (and staged archival footage) to give a truly authentic experience. Although clocking in at just over two hours, the film flies by in a flurry as you are swept in to Milk’s heart-felt journey, from his quieter beginnings, to the trials and tribulations of his eventual success, and ultimately his tragic assassination.

THE BAD: There is not a lot to complain about in this film. Gus Van Sant has done some of the best directing work of his career, as for the most part his artistic sensibilities blend beautifully together with standard techniques to create a unique and authentic film experience. However, it does not always come off as some of Van Sant’s unfortunate use of camera angles in certain places is reminiscent of what a student film would look like in its art-house pretentiousness. However, these instances are few and far between and ultimately do not distract too much from the film.

RATING: 8/10

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Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net

Milk

Last updated: 2010-01-18 14:45:13 by malikaziz

Milk

Sean Penn won the best actor at the Oscar for his role as Harvey Milk in this movie and I believe it was quite an unanimous vote. He is absolutely brilliant in this flick.

Milk is based on the life of Harvey Milk, a gay activist who became the first openly gay to be elected into the office. He initiated gay rights movement in Castro Street of San Francisco, a growing gay community, and it flickered hopes for homosexuals all across United States of America. He struggled to be accepted by the vast majority but stood firm through it all. Unfortunately at the peak of his popularity, on 27 November 1978 he was shot dead by his colleague, Supervisor Dan White.

As much as this movie is a biopic, I think the main focus is not on Milk but on the cause he was fighting for. He encountered many setbacks, failures and oppositions in his journey but he kept on trying till he succeed. If his life wasn’t cut short, I’m sure he’ll be the World’s most famous gay for being a prick to the conservative community and a hero to those being denied of human rights. Which side I’m on? Honestly, I’m neither an adversary nor advocate of homosexuality. Not that I didn’t care much about it but it’s too complicated to be on either side. So in a way I am objective about the movie Milk. However, the movie shows the injustice suffered by gays during that era and it is enough to make me feel that they deserve their rights as a human just like everybody else. As a Christian, I was even detesting Anita Bryant for using Christianity to act self-righteous. She reminds me of the Nazi. Christianity is not a weapon to strip people of their rights. Milk is admirable in his stand against the vast majority who regarded them as “sick” and I respect him.

Director Gus Van Sant does amazing in handling the controversial issue with sensitivity. It should not offend anyone but rather leaves audience to question the justice system. The movie is filmed in documentary style which creates a sense of reality, reminding us that this isn’t just a movie but also a presentation of current issue. The film techinques is accompanied with great cast, especially Sean Penn with his shaped eyebrow, James Franco as a manly gay and the rest.



I’d say unless you’ve got homophobia, Milk is a recommendable movie.

Mel says: 8.4/10

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Milk

"My name is Harvey Milk, and I'm here to recruit you!" This quote may not mean anything to most of us today, but when spoken by Harvey Milk himself in 1970s San Francisco, this was a battle cry that meant hope for homosexuals everywhere. To this day, the issue of homosexuality has been prevalent in our society. Great strides have been made to settle the dispute, but none have birthed a final conclusion. Intolerance of homosexuals became a past time for some Americans, and Harvey Milk was the man looking to find those people another hobby.

Milk is the true story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), the first openly gay man elected to a public office. Forced out of New York because of his inability to live his lifestyle freely, Harvey took to the road with his lover Scott Smith (James Franco) in search of a haven for homosexuals. The two arrived in San Francisco only to discover just as much prejudice crawling through the city as anywhere else. Determined to help the world realize that all men are created equal, Harvey runs for office multiple times but comes out on the losing end. Despite losing Scott because of the chaos of politics, he kept pursuing office and eventually won a seat as City Supervisor in 1977. Contending with the views of fellow Supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin), Harvey now had to face a huge threat that endangered the jobs of millions of homosexuals: Proposition 6. Led by State Senator John Briggs, Proposition 6 called for all homosexual teachers at public schools to be fired in order to prevent them from teaching their students to be gay. This absolutely absurd claim sparked huge uproar in the gay community, specifically from Harvey Milk. Chronicling his life from his move to San Francisco to his murder (not a spoiler, as both his death and murderer are revealed about 4 minutes into the film), Milk is a fantastic film that teaches us about the life and teachings of this pioneer in history.

It is almost impossible to determine where one should begin to discuss Milk. With such flawless execution in every aspect of the film, it seems unfair to start one without talking about the other. Writer Dustin Lance Black, who received an Academy Award for his Best Original Screenplay, did a terrific job of not simply stating facts about Harvey Milk's life but telling a story that dug emotions from the deepest trench of my soul. To admit something about myself for a moment, I am not exactly what you would consider a "sympathizer" of the homosexual lifestyle. However, Black's perfect blend of realistic drama and occasional humor (Dan White: Can two men reproduce? Harvey Milk: No, but God knows we keep trying!) made me connect with each and every character and start to think of things in a new light. Director Gus Van Sant complimented Black's writing beautifully with an eloquent style that was not in the least bit showy. Subtle and simple camerawork did not fancify the story but simply enabled it to be told in a direct matter for the purpose of entertainment and enlightenment. Van Sant, whose films have been hit and miss (a shot for shot remake of Psycho counts as not just a miss, but a complete and utter misfire that made Alfred Hitchcock weep in his grave), is at his creative best here by being as least creative as possible.

The piece de resistance of Milk is the one who not only brought the words, but the man, to life. I am referring to Sean Penn, who won his second Academy Award for Best Leading Actor for this role. My initial reaction to Penn winning this award was one of disbelief and anger, because although I had not seen the film yet, I had heavy doubts that he could have been much better than Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. Having seen Milk, I can say both men were equally worthy of winning the award, and the reason it was granted to Penn was probably due to the fact that Hollywood is a liberal place. This does not take merit away from Penn's performance, which was nothing short of outstanding. His contribution mixed with Van Sant and Black brought the era to life and put me right in the center of the action. What is perhaps most surprising about Milk is that there were a number of supporting performances that were just as praise-worthy as Penn's. Josh Brolin delivered a very powerful performance as Harvey Milk's executioner Dan White, earning him an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actor. White, a man bent on protecting the sancitity of traditional family life, perhaps even confused about his own sexuality according to Milk, feels his world begin to unfurl as he starts losing support and he watches Milk start to gain some. His morals and ethics are shook to the core, and Brolin displays them easily for us to see. But to just give Brolin a nomination for Supporting Actor seems unfair to Emile Hirsch and James Franco, who both gave exceptional performances. As Harvey Milk's close political advisor and fellow gay activist Cleve Jones, Hirsch encapsulates the role and helps keep the movie afloat in scenes that in other hands would have sunk. The most unexpected performance of Milk was that of James Franco, whom I have never seen in a good dramatic role. I was shocked to find that while watching the film I had completely forgotten it was Franco and I just felt like I was watching Harvey Milk and Scott Smith. Perhaps there is a future for him in serious films after all.

Admittedly, my general views on homosexuality have not changed much since watching Milk, but I have gained a better understanding of the situation. The very idea that this film resonated with me at all should give you an idea of how powerful it's message was. One can only wonder that if this film was released a few weeks earlier, would the recent Proposition 8 have passed in California? Something tells me that if everybody watched this film, whether the ideas stuck or not, the immediate reaction would have been to vote "No". This is all a relative thought, however. If you are a strict, God-fearing person, this movie will not affect you at all probably. But if you are like me and your feelings about homosexuality come from your own mind rather than a book, you may be more inclinded to succumb to the bias of Milk.

Clocking in at just over 2 hours, I was never bored with Milk and felt that I could have watched it again immediately afterward. To those of you who are concerned about watching men kissing other men, I assure you that at no point does the film become uncomfortable to watch, as long as you have a mature mind about you. Whether you watch Milk as a historical text or a vessel of entertainment, you are guaranteed a terrific experience from a truly brilliant movie. My rating (10/10)