"Milk" (2008) - Movie Review

Sean Penn can flex in a jiffy from film to film with a cathartic change in each character. He portrays Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to be city supervisor in San Francisco. Milk was assassinated and the film unfolds Sean Penn as Milk taping his statement in the event of his sudden demise of what he did and what it meant to him and others. A film coming up in the wake of Prop 8 being passed, it resonates how much we have come forward and yet how blaringly we are still behind in the acceptance of people for their individuality.

The movie begins Milk in his born spontaneity asking randomly a man he crosses over in a subway, Scott (James Franco) for an immediate date citing his birthday in few hours. After the flirtatious convincing argument over his age being a factor for Scott they end up in bed discussing his 40th year birthday that he jokingly laments of how much of nothing he did in this life. Scott becomes a change in his lifestyle and he goes more open and moves in to the Castro Street and opens a camera shop. Thus begins the day to day accumulation of the discrimination and irritation urging out in his shop and becomes the epicenter for his campaign to get in the office.

Milk more than the biopic is about the attitude of gays being looked down upon in the period of 70s which definitely is not a novel way in pictures like this. But it is about an impulsive man who thought that sitting in the closet does not help in getting what you want but doing something about it and that is this film is about. Standing for it and the interesting thing about the film is that we exactly do not know his values which are buried in the fights. In that Gus Van Sant have a minute surprises and which is the organism of politics getting the man. Apart from his fight for gay rights, he played the game well to get his points across. In a very small scene with Mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber), the Mayor tells him who he sounds like now, a politician. Moscone jokes though in that submerged truth but Milk knows the transformation and he is elated to do more things with the power.

When gays are portrayed focusing a little more than usual on their promiscuity, it seem to have been of prominence. They want it to be open so that the people get used to it. In India physical intimacy in public is frowned upon or even worse teased and humiliated and in the 1970 San Francisco that would have been the situation for them. The difference is gay people said this is what who we are and we are not embarrassed about it. If some one has a problem, keep it with them was the statement. In another daring scene, Milk asks his friends and campaign supporters to disclose their sexuality to their family against their privacy. When voices need to be heard, privacy needs to take the door out.

The man who killed Milk, Dan White (Josh Brolin) and his relationship with Milk is a small but significant portion of the film. The manner Milk says to his friends that he sees White as some one caught up behind the Irish Catholic upbringing and in fact suspects him to be gay. Both men have this tension and White is both bound by the charisma and the dauntless behaviour of Milk. It is as if he cannot bare the sight of this man humiliating his presence of weakness. Brolin is mainly effective in this role as this complex person tightening inside and how he dances around with whispering yelling to Milk.

“Milk” has potential devoted casts as James Franco, Diego Luna and Emile Hirsch. Milk was so much into the activism that his personal life was in shambles. He was not able to attend his partner’s needs both Scott and the Jack Lira (Diego Luna). In former it ends in a break up while in latter tragedy strikes. He fights for the right to have normal social life in the society but it affects to have a personal livelihood with his lovers. This Catch-22 is another side of this man we see.

Harvey Milk was a brave man proclaiming his sexuality which three quarters of the population dislike. But that is exactly was his point that differences is bound to be existent and to discriminate to have a better equal status in society was the issue. I am sure while most of the people heard about Milk would not have seen him up close or for that matter his speech. And Sean Penn brings him to life in which we do not see a character in a film but a fighting man went down in history. Penn is remarkable in giving that.