Best Picture Review #3: Milk

Friday, February 20, 2009


I knew going in to watch Milk that it was a social film; a biopic about an individual who had accomplished something groundbreaking in civil rights, so I knew what to expect, and I got it. Milk feels like a movie you've seen before, but it does have its own unique qualities. Director Gus Van Sant and writer Dustin Lance Black made several choices about the format of the film that both distinguishes Milk from other similar films and establishes its place among the pantheon of well-made movies about civil rights and liberties.

Some of these liberties work very well. The cinematography is excellent. Real footage from the 1970s is seamlessly blended into the story, and the camera's use of mirrors in pivotal situations is terrific. (If you've seen the film, think of the scene with the whistle. Brilliant.) I thought the portrayal of the secondary characters was also very well done. The political supporters that surrounded Harvey Milk had depth and were not merely portrayed as sheep, which would have been an easy thing to fall back on. Harvey's uneasy relationship with political rival and fellow supervisor Dan White was very humanizing to both characters, which made the final ambiguity of Milk hard to ignore. Finally, Sean Penn's performance is amazing. His portrayal of Harvey Milk made him come to life on the screen and made the story very believable and accessible.

On the other hand, the movie is not without its problems. Milk cannot decide which vehicle it will use to drive the story along. Harvey Milk's dictation of his will (only to be heard if he is assassinated) is the main device that keeps the action moving, but sometimes news broadcasts, subtitles, or even short musical montages provide the transitions. It's all very distracting and inconsistent. And why in the world was the news clip announcing his assassination included at the beginning? It seemed like a clever attempt at foreshadowing, but felt like a mistake.

Despite all this, Milk is a very well-made film and a timely commentary on the state of homosexual advances in society. One cannot ignore the parallels between the 1970s Proposition 6 and Proposition 8 of 2008. I'm sure opponents of that bill wish that it had been released before this year's election, but I think that would have cheapened the movie's value and made it seem like a big political commercial made just for 2008. As it is, Milk stands on its own, just like its namesake. 4.5/5 stars


3 comments:

Rachel said...

Sorry I'm a little behind...this is a cool thing you're doing. You think about movies WAY more than I do! (But I already knew that.)

Yogi said...

You know, I've never watched the Academy Awards in my life, but you may have inspired me to do so this year...At least I'll know a little bit about what they're celelbrating!!

Robert said...

I'm glad you guys are enjoying! You know, I could take or leave the Academy Awards show itself. There's about ten minutes I'm interested in, and that's the last ten minutes. Hopefully I'll get home from work in time to see it live!

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