Oscar Review: Milk

Today I predicatably review Milk, which came in 2nd out of the Best Picture nominees. And I must point out that I never thought me reviewing Benjamin Button would get me called Hitler and Stalin, a first for even me. I was in awe and, I must say, almost offended. So I guess I'll be open to opinions more often and readily.

Milk

The Players: Directed by Gus Van Sant, Starring Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emilie Hirsch, and Diego Luna
Also Nominated For: Best Actor (Penn), Best Supporting Actor (Brolin), Best Director (Van Sant), Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score
Plot: The story of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone by San Francisco Supervisor Dan White.

Review: Otherwise known as the Sean Penn Show, Milk is a gripping story about the former gay supervisor. That doesn't mean it is not flawed. The cast gives a great performance, especially Penn and Brolin, who shine. Penn is totally committed to the role in every way. Any other year, he might get the Oscar. But I think it belongs to Rourke this year. Where I think it is flawed, however, is in that it doesn't show Harvey Milk as human; it shows him as a perfect, gay superhero freedom fighter. Sir Milk sure had flaws. Like, how he sent a letter to Jim Jones at Jonestown, pledging his support for him a few weeks before a forced mass suicide. But the movie is, nonetheless, engaging. Although the scenes with his lovers are rather hit or miss, the protests and the campaigning is great. When Penn, Hirsch, and the the crew are all together, that's where the movie shines. Like Frost/Nixon, this is a movie completely driven by it's characters. That's not to say Van Sant doesn't do a great job. He recreates the 1970's of San Francisco and makes it seem like you are there. The best scene of the movie, where Broiin goes to Harvey's fancy party drunk, single handedly got Brolin the nomination and was so powerful. Even though Franco may have done better. What makes Milk so powerful is its subject and what it represents. The movie is about Harvey Milk but it's more about what he represented. Gays, even in liberal California, had barely any rights. It's amazing that, as a society, America is so young and prejudice. I never understood why people are so bias against gays. If religious people think that gays are going to hell, then let them. Who cares? Everybody needs to worry about themselves because everybody deserves to live the life they want, forget the consequences. Before I make this about gay rights, I'll get back to the movie. Going into this movie, you know what's going to happen. Harvey Milk is going to die. But Sean Penn shows audiences that there's a reason this man is more known for his life than his death, even though both were high profile. He showed gays that they SHOULD get out in the open and accept who they were and what they deserved. This is not to say the movie was perfect. I'm not sure why, I just think it suffered from the United 93 syndrome. No movie could completely capture the life and death of Harvey Milk. Nor could it completely convey how much Harvey Milk meant. It's better than most biopics, thats for sure. It's a great movie, but is it a memorable one? One I'll watch 10 years from now? A Best Picture winner? Not quite. It needed just a little extra oomph. Harvey Milk played second fiddle to no man, but his movie does. And Milk is number two because number one is oh-so-good. Number one is memorable, I'll watch it 10 years from now, and it is a Best Picture winner. Sorry, Harvey. That doesn't mean Milk isn't great. It just isn't as great as the man.

Grade: B+

I'll be back later today or Friday for my review of the #1 movie in the Best Picture category. Which, by the powers of deduction, I'm sure you can figure out.