Dir. Gus Van Sant , US , 2008, 128 mins
Cast: Sean Penn, James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber
Review by Matthew Rodgers
It's quite shocking that something as contemporary as the assassination of Harvey Milk is not common knowledge amongst a generation as equality conscious as ours. This is all about to change with Gus Van Sant's most accomplished and linear movie to date, and one that is brimming with superlative laden performances from everyone involved.
Using flashbacks prompted by a tape-recorded statement, Milk tells the story of the last eight years in the life of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk (Penn): his arrival in San Francisco in 1970, what elevated him to become a prominent gay rights activist and his continued struggle to overcome prejudice on his way to office and ultimately tragedy. It's a powerful story that deserves to be told.
The title character is wonderfully realised by Penn in a performance that screams awards without any flamboyance or OTT acting. Penn's Milk is a thoroughly likeable and flawed central character on which to hang an issues movie, being understated and wholly believable. Sacrificing the personal for the cause is an age-old device in movies but with the added resonance of the true story factor, it's all the more powerful. Penn has embodied Harvey Milk in the way that such a figure deserves to be portrayed in order to inspire through his tragic legacy and Milk makes sure that he commands your attention and does just that.
The rest of the cast also deliver career-making turns; what a year for James Franco. After stealing the otherwise underwhelming Pineapple Express , this sees him elevated to a genuine movie talent with an empathically passionate turn as Milk's boyfriend, Scott Smith. Emile Hirsch continues to operate under the mainstream radar, all swagger and sass as a smart-mouthed assistant. In any other movie he would get all the accolades. And of course there's Josh Brolin as disgruntled city supervisor, Dan White, whose own frustrations combust against Milk's cavalier ambitions to tragic effect. He gives another honest and conflicted performance and all credit to both actor and screenplay that his is a fully rounded character as opposed to being simply a bigoted bad guy.
Schizophrenically successful director Van Sant also returns to form. This affectionately produced biopic comes from the same man that churned out Paranoid Park , the lamentable Gerry , and that shot-for-shot Psycho remake. Its relatively simple chronological construction is a world away from the dreary indulgence of some of his past pieces. When his movies have an impassioned core they tend to succeed — Elephant , My Own Private Idaho and Good Will Hunting — you can now add Milk to that list.
|
